CHARLESTON — An inmate at the Northern Correctional Facility is suing the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and officers he claims used excessive force and caused him injuries.
Correctional Officer Gary and Sgt. Justin Wade were also named as defendants in the suit.
David Deberry claims during his incarceration, the defendants used excessive force on him, including pepper spraying him and tackling him to the ground and breaking his hand and wrist, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Deberry claims the incident occurred on May 30, 2021, and Gary later bragged about breaking Deberry's wrist.
"The reckless and wrongful acts and omissions of the Defendants directly resulted in Plaintiff being injured physically and mentally," the complaint states.
Deberry claims he exhausted all administrative remedies before filing his complaint.
As an inmate of DCR, he requested to speak with the shift commander and posed no threat to the defendants when he was sprayed directly in the face with pepper spray without just cause, according to the suit.
Deberry claims the defendants then took him to the ground and broke his hand and wrist and then filed false incident reports in an attempt to cover up their wrongful conduct.
The defendants' failure violated DRC policy and also violated Deberry's right to be free and excessive physical force and/or cruel and unusual punishment, according to the suit.
Deberry claims the defendants' actions violated the U.S. Constitution and were outrageous conduct.
"The individual defendants...conspired with one another to file false incident reports," the complaint states. "The defendants filed these reports knowing that the information was false. Defendants knew that the false reports would have a negative impact on plaintiff's status within the facility and would also cover-up their wrongdoing."
Deberry is seeking compensatory and punitive damages with pre- and post-judgment interest. He is represented by Paul M. Stroebel of Stroebel & Stroebel in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Ken Ballard.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 22-C-166
