Two Greenwood, South Carolina, police officers drove Tracy Denise Brooks, 56, to a dark, closed gas station after midnight in 28-degree weather and left her there, her son says in a wrongful death lawsuit. She used a walker and wore a medical boot. About 90 minutes later, a driver hit her on a rural road. She was pronounced dead at 2:05 a.m.
Bracy Brooks, as personal representative of his mother’s estate, filed the suit Oct. 22 against the City of Greenwood and officers Anna Ballenger and Austin Teasley. Ms. Brooks was a Black woman, Atlanta Black Star reported. The complaint seeks actual and punitive damages and a jury trial.
It lays out the night this way. Employees at T.W. Boons restaurant on Main Street called police on Feb. 22, 2025, worried about Ms. Brooks’s condition. The officers knew she was hurt, could not walk without help, was intoxicated and had no ride, the suit says. Ballenger drove her to a gas station near Five Points, outside city limits, with no shelter, no phone and no one around.
The complaint quotes Ms. Brooks begging not to be put out: “Don’t put me out here. I don’t want to get out here. Take me to jail. It’s cold.” The suit says both officers then turned off their body cameras. When the footage resumed, she was gone.
It names the options the officers had instead: take her home, to family, to a hospital or to jail. Bobby Alfred Lyles, who was driving the sedan that struck her on Siloam Church Road, was charged with DUI and driving under suspension, according to Fox Carolina.
The chief’s decision
The lawsuit also goes after what happened inside the department. It alleges Police Chief T.J. Chaudoin dismissed the incident, rejected a recommendation to fire both officers and declined to open a criminal investigation. Atlanta Black Star reported that Chaudoin has called the abandonment and her death two separate incidents.The allegations have not been tested in court.
Ballenger resigned in June 2025. Teasley is still on the force.
The city has said little. Chaudoin told Fox Carolina he would “reserve detailed comments for the appropriate legal proceedings.” Mayor Brandon Smith declined to discuss the case, citing the litigation.
The mayor is on the ballot. His challenger, James Long, called for the chief’s resignation, saying the allegations “are deeply troubling. They deserve clear answers, independent scrutiny, and accountability.” Chaudoin answered: “He is entitled to express his opinion, but I will not resign because he demands it.”
Greenwood votes for mayor Nov. 3.
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