I beat you up; now pay me

A former Fulton County sheriff’s deputy who broke a man’s legs while working off-duty security wants his victim to reimburse him for wages he lost after being fired from the sheriff’s department.

A year ago, then-deputy Kelvin Smith used a baton to bash the knees of Tim Peck, a customer at Fox & Hounds restaurant and pub in northwest Atlanta. The deputy claimed Peck deserved the beating because he was combative; a Fulton magistrate judge disagreed and said in January that “the law just cannot condone” the deputy’s action. Within weeks, Sheriff Jacquelyn Barrett fired Smith, and Peck filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against Smith and the restaurant that paid him for security services.

Last month, Smith’s attorney filed a response to the lawsuit in DeKalb County Superior Court. The response says Peck is responsible for his own injuries. It also states: “Because of the conduct of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has sustained significant damages including the loss of his job as a Fulton County Deputy Sheriff. [T]hose damages are being sought in this case.”??