CHARLESTON – A Dunbar couple have filed suit against the city and four police officers they allege detained them in their own home without a search warrant over allegations their son, who did not live at the home, was in possession of a firearm.
Valerie and Timothy Taylor filed a complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against the city of Dunbar, Matthew Arthur, Owen Barker, A. Ashworth and Sgt. Mason, all members of its police department, alleging violation of their Fourth, First and Fourteenth Amendment rights and West Virginia law.
According to the suit, Mason, Barker and Ashworth came to the Taylor's residence on Sept. 1, 2017, to search their home for a firearm they claim was in their son's possession. Timothy Taylor alleges he refused to allow the search since there was no warrant. The plaintiffs allege Mason and Ashworth unlawfully entered the house and detained Valerie Taylor and later Timothy Taylor while Barker sought a search warrant. The suit states the warrant was refused and the defendants leave the premises.
The Taylors seek compensatory and punitive damages, injunctive relief to require appropriate officer training, a trial by jury and all other just relief. They are represented by Michael Clifford in Charleston.
The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Tera Salango.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 19-C-878