CLARKSBURG — A cellphone at the heart of a federal lawsuit against the City of Westover and two police officers has been found after being lost for nearly two years.
Meanwhile, one of the officers is seeking an injunction against the city, claiming it is denying his employment rights after he was placed on administrative leave last summer.
The damaged phone recently was entered into evidence, according to court records. Federal Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi wants a repair expert to try to fix the phone. Observers for both sides will watch that process, and the plaintiff’s attorneys will submit any relevant data.
The phone might have a video of the August 2019 arrest of William Cox, who sued the city and officers Aaron Dalton and Justice Carver. The phone disappeared shortly after Cox was arrested.
Cox says the police officers deprived him of his rights under the First, Fourth and 14th Amendments when he was recording them on his cell phone.
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 says 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.
Earlier this month, Dalton filed a request for an injunction in Monongalia Circuit Court against the city, claiming it is denying his employment rights as protected by state code related to civil serve and the city charter.
Dalton has been on paid administrative leave since August 2020, and he is at the heart of three lawsuits filed against the city related to alleged misconduct. His attorney says Dalton hasn’t been given a hearing and hasn’t been given copies of the complaints against him or asked about them.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 1:21-cv-00004
