CHARLESTON – An Elkview man says he was the victim of excessive force at the hands of a Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputy.
Paul Edward Shaw filed his complaint in Kanawha Circuit Court against Sheriff Mike Rutherford and Deputy J.L. Lester.
According to the complaint, Shaw was walking along the shoulder East Dupont Avenue in Cedar Grove just before midnight on January 11, 2022, when Emily Wilkinson hit him with her vehicle.
When Lester arrived at the screen about 30 minutes later, Shaw claims he used unwarranted and excessive force against him by striking him and twisting him after he already had been injured by the vehicle.
Once emergency services arrived, Shaw says he was removed from the scene and was transporting to Charleston Area Medical Center Memorial Hospital.
Shaw says he suffered physical and mental injuries as a result of Lester’s use of excessive force.
He accuses the defendants of violating his Fourth Amendment right protecting him from use of excessive force as well as negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Shaw seeks compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney fees, court costs and other relief.
He is being represented by Brian R. Blickenstaff of Johns & Associates in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Jennifer Bailey.
Kanawha Circuit Court case number 24-C-23