CHARLESTON – A Boone County woman says she was the victim of excessive force by county sheriff’s deputies and the Madison Police Department.
Kelly Crawford filed her complaint August 30 in federal court. She lists the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, the Boone County Commission, Boone County Sheriff’s Deputy Camryn T. Daniels, the City of Madison, the City of Madison Police Department, Madison Police Chief Chet Burgess, Madison Mayor James Hudson and Madison Police Officer Joe Marino as defendants.
“The excessive force in this case is appalling,” attorney L. Dante diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “The defendant deputy was twice Ms. Crawford’s size and punched her repeatedly, breaking every bone in her face and causing permanent neurological injuries.
diTrapano
“These few officers that use their size, power and control to injure and kill our citizens need to be held accountable.”
According to the complaint, Daniels was dispatched to a location in Wharton late on August 30, 2022, on a disturbance call. When he arrived, he said Crawford was foaming at the mouth and stated, ‘I’m Kelly, and I’m dead,” according to the criminal complaint. Despite that, Daniels did not request an ambulance for Crawford, who the civil complaint says is 5 feet, 4 inches tall and weighs 119 pounds.
Daniels also said Crawford struck him in the face with her closed hand when he tried to put her in handcuffs, so he used a taser gun on her, causing her to fall to the ground. When Crawford refused to get in the patrol car, she says Daniels punched her in the face with a closed fist.
Daniels also alleged Crawford tried to bite him while she was handcuffed and in the backseat of the patrol car while transporting her. He also said he exited the vehicle and opened the rear door to punch Crawford in the face again because she tried to throw her legs out of the car when he opened the rear door. He says he punched Crawford in the face with his right elbow later as he was driving when she tried to bite him again.
He also says Crawford’s agitated demeanor, which included striking her head against the windows of the patrol car, as justification for using pepper spray on her. Records from Boone County Emergency Management Agency show Daniels said Crawford, who was handcuffed in the back seat, was fighting him when he used the pepper spray.
The complaint says Marino met Daniels and took Crawford to Boone Memorial Hospital, where she was listed as a Jane Doe despite officials providing her name to the officers. The complaint says Marino punched Crawford in the face as well while she was in his custody.
Crawford says her injuries included a right pterygoid fracture, bilateral maxillary sinus fractures, bilateral orbital floor fractures, left orbital wall fracture, left zygomatic arch fracture, bilateral nasal bone fracture, nasal septum fracture and bilateral periorbital hematoma. The injuries were so severe she was transported to Charleston Area Medical Center, where she underwent surgeries to repair the damage.
Crawford says Daniels and the sheriff’s department have litigated prior claims of excessive force, including at least two other federal lawsuits. She says Daniels has acknowledged striking detainees at least 25 times in the last two years, according to the complaint.
She also says Burgess and the Madison Police Department have been accused previously of using excessive force in at least two additional federal lawsuits.
Crawford accuses Daniels and Marino of excessive force, assault and battery. She accuses the other defendants of vicarious liability and negligence.
She seeks compensatory damages for her pain, suffering, medical bills, lost income, mental suffering, emotional distress, conscious pain and suffering and other injuries. She also seeks punitive damages, pre- and post-judgment interests, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
Crawford is being represented by diTrapano and Amanda J. Davis of Calwell Luce diTrapano in Charleston and by W. Jesse Forbes of Forbes Law Offices in Charleston.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 2:23-cv-585