CLARKSBURG — A man says a Westover police officer deprived him of his rights under the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments when he was recording them on his cell phone.
William Cox, a dishwasher at a local restaurant, was waiting for the Mountain Line bus at the bus stop on Dunkard Avenue in Westover on Aug. 25, 2019, when he saw Westover Officers Justice Carver and Aaron Dalton driving along the road and he began to record them on his phone, according to a complaint filed Jan. 15 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
Dalton turned the vehicle around and drove toward Cox when they saw him recording them and asked why he was doing so, to which he replied it was his right to do so.
Cox claims Carver appeared to activate his body camera and said he could record him as well. Cox claims he told the officers he was relieved they had body cameras and, if necessary, he would submit a Freedom of Information Act request for that footage.
The plaintiff Dalton responded that Cox was "too stupid" to know what FOIA meant and Cox replied that he was aware of what FOIA was. The officers then exited the police cruiser anad attacked Cox, kicking him, punching him and pepper spraying him, according to the suit.
Cox claims the defendants took his cell phone, but it never was returned to him. He believes they destroyed it. He claims that even though he had hoped the officers had activated their body cameras, they had not or they had deleted or destroyed that camera footage.
Cox was unlawfully arrested and processed and placed in a solitary padded holding cell. He later was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital for medical treatment, where it was determined that he had a facial fracture. He was later fraudulently charged with disorderly conduct, obstructing an officer and assault and battery, according to the suit
Cox was then he was incarcerated until Oct. 3, 2019. On Oct. 7, 2020, the charges against him were dismissed. He claims he has lived in constant fear of potential incarceration and fraudulent charges since the incident.
Cox is seeking compensatory and punitive damages. He is represented by P. Gregory Haddad and Travis A. Prince of Bailey Glasser LLP; and Samuel Madia and Jonathan Prince of Shaffer Madia Law.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 1:21-cv-00004