CHARLESTON — A man who was incarcerated at Southern Regional Jail is suing several correctional officers alleging he was beaten and tortured.
The West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, CO Curry, CO Stewart and unknown and unnamed individuals were all named as defendants in the suit.
Joshua Palmer was allegedly injured and tortured on Aug. 19, 2020, when Curry and Stewart beat him while he was incarcerated, according to a complaint filed in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Palmer claims he was knocked unconscious and awoke in an interview room, where he found a number of his teeth on the floor and he suffered serious fractures to his face and his jaw.
"Defendants violated their duties by beating plaintiff without just cause," the complaint states. "Defendants' conduct was a violation of plaintiff's constitutional rights under the 8th and/or 14th Amendments to United States Constitution."
Palmer is seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
WVDOC filed a motion to dismiss December 7, claiming it is entitled to qualified immunity.
"Here, Plaintiff has failed to plead a violation of a clearly established right of which a reasonable official would have known," the motion states. "Plaintiff has failed to show that Police Directive 312 vested in Plaintiff a clearly established right of which a reasonable official would have known. In addition to failing to identify a clearly established law, Plaintiff has further failed to satisfy the 'knowing' element."
WVDOC argues that the plaintiff did not allege that the individual defendants engaged in prior acts of excessive force or that any known threat to the plaintiff existed, according to the motion.
WVDOC wants to be dismissed from the suit, stating that the only claim against it was for common law negligence and is not subject to an award of attorney's fees.
Palmer is being represented by Paul M. Stroebel of Stroebel & Stroebel in Charleston. WVDOC is represented by Natalie C. Schaefer, Caleb B. David and Michael P. Quinlan of Shuman McCuskey Slicer in Charleston.
The case is assigned to Circuit Judge Carrie Webster.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number: 22-C-576