Richard C. Basford II, an officer of CPD was also named as a defendant in the suit.
On Dec. 26, 2012, Samuel T. Jones Jr. left his place of employment and walked to the Empty Glass, a music club and bar on Elizabeth Street in Charleston, where he remained, according to a complaint filed April 5 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
Jones claims at approximately 6:30 p.m., he and an acquaintance, E.B., stepped outside to smoke cigarettes in front of the club and at approximately 6:43 p.m., Basford and “Sgt. Davis” of CPD were dispatched to respond to a “shot fired” complaint.
The officers then drove around the area of Washington Street East, McClung Street and Elizabeth Street and observed Jones and E.B. by the Empty Glass, according to the suit.
Jones claims Basford parked the cruiser near the Empty Glass and ordered him and E.B. to walk to the cruiser.
When the plaintiff asked what was going on, Basford said he was investigating a shot fired complaint and Jones informed him he had the wrong guy, according to the suit.
Jones claims Basford then responded that he did not know him and threw him to the ground and then told him to stop resisting and delivered a knee strike to his back.
Basford handcuffed Jones, arrested and searched him and then transported him to the police station, where Jones told officers that he was suffering from substantial back pain, according to the suit.
Jones claims Basford initiated prosecution of Jones by preparing criminal complains and a sworn affidavit and then he was released on bail.
On Aug. 15, a Kanawha County magistrate dismissed the criminal complains and Jones was discharged from further criminal prosecution, according to the suit.
Jones claims he has continued to suffer pain in his lower back caused by Basford’s use of excessive force and, in defense of the charges brought against him by Basford, he incurred legal expenses in the amount of $10,000.
The defendants deprived Joes of his Constitutional rights and caused him to suffer physical pain and injuries; emotional distress; embarrassment; humiliation; anxiety; and financial damages, according to the suit.
Jones is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with post-judgment interest. He is being represented by John A. Kessler and S. Benjamin Bryant of Carey, Scott, Douglas & Kessler PLLC.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 2:16-cv-03212