HUNTINGTON — A couple is suing the Putnam County Commission alleging they harassed and humiliated them.
Deputy Sheriff Heather D. Grimmett and Deputy Sheriff B.W. Pauley were also named as defendants in the suit.
On Nov. 3, 2021, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department dispatched Pauley to the home of Angela Hall and Erik Hall, according to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.
The Halls claim upon receiving no response to the knocks, three deputies entered and searched the home and located the plaintiff's 12- and 14-year-old children and placed them in a patrol vehicle away from the home.
Angela Hall returned while the officers were searching the home and Pauley requested a statement from her, which she refused. Pauley then told her they had her children and they would not be returned until she provided a statement and cooperated, according to the suit.
The Halls claim Angela Hall then began giving a recorded statement and Pauley was not happy with the statement, so he turned off the recording device and began coaching her on what to say.
Pauley then went through a form with her and on questions in which Angela Hall answered "no," he indicated "yes" on the form.
The children were then returned to Angela Hall and Erik Hall was charged with two counts of domestic battery and one count of interfering with emergency communication.
"Plaintiff Angela Hall indicated on numerous times to the Putnam County prosecutor's office that she did not want to press charges and indicated that the criminal complaint contained false information and her statements were taken under duress and with coaching from the Defendant Department," the complaint states.
Later, on April 4, Grimmett obtained a warrant from the Magistrate Court of Putnam County to search the plaintiffs' home for two firearms that belong to Angela Hall, however, the handguns are not stored at her residence and are kept at her oldest daughter's home, according to the suit.
The Halls claim when Grimmett executed the warrant, she explained the guns were not there and where they were, but they continued searching her home and destroyed numerous pieces of property.
The Halls claim the defendants also made a referral to the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Child Protective Services claiming abuse and neglect of the younger children that reside in the home.
An investigation was conducted by CPS, which found no abuse or neglect and specifically found the children in the home were safe, but Grimmett ignored the findings and filed an abuse and neglect petition in Putnam Circuit Court.
The Halls are seeking compensatory and punitive damages. They are represented by Travis A. Griffith of Griffith Law Center in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number: 3:22-cv-00277
