CHARLESTON – The City of Dunbar has settled a second police brutality lawsuit, but two more similar cases remain against city officers still are pending.
On January 21, Dunbar City Council approved a $100,000 settlement in a case Rickey Baire filed last May in federal court against officers Zachary Winters, Adam Mason and the City of Dunbar.
It was the third such lawsuit filed against Dunbar officers in less than two years, and both of the previous cases also involved Winters. A fourth lawsuit was filed in November, but Winters was not named as a defendant in that case.
DiTrapano and Forbes
| File photos
“It’s yet again a sad day for the citizens of Dunbar and West Virginia as this settlement highlights another in an unfortunately long line of alleged civil rights abuses at the hands of Dunbar Police officers,” said L. Dante diTrapano, one of the attorneys representing Baire. “While the tragic circumstances of this case have resulted in a settlement, that is precisely what should happen when a citizen has their rights trampled on by the very people that are charged with protecting them.”
In 2023, Dunbar agreed to pay $2 million to the family of Michael Scott Jr., who died in police custody in July 2022. The settlement figure includes attorney fees, court costs, funeral and medical bills as well as compensatory damages. DiTrapano and attorney Jesse Forbes also represented Scott’s estate as well as the two other individuals who have filed excessive force lawsuits against Dunbar and its officers.
“The tragic case involving Michael Scott Jr. occurred over two years ago and should have been a wake-up call for the law enforcement community,” diTrapano told The West Virginia Record. “Instead, we have continued to see problem after problem emerge from Dunbar. By coming forward and engaging the civil justice system Mr. Baire has helped to effectuate change and bring attention to these problems.”
Forbes said these types of abuses have no place in society, much less at the hands of law enforcement officers.
“Although there is no dollar amount that can undo the traumatic impact of being the subject of alleged police brutality, this a positive step in the way of accountability for Ricky Baire and the community as a whole,” Forbes told The Record. “The allegations in this case included having an officer pull a gun on Mr. Baire after he was riding his bicycle, another officer nearly striking that him with a cruiser, and then the officers beating him to the point of broken ribs and then continuing the abuses by depriving him of medical care.
“These are not the types of actions that should ever be tolerated by the police and our citizens deserve better. What makes it even more shocking is that the allegations in this case involve the exact same officers from the Michael Scott, Jr. case.”
DiTrapano said Baire stood up for his rights.
“Certainly our client has a feeling of vindication with this resolution, but the true hope is that this result will continue to shine the light of accountability onto the Dunbar Police Department so that no one else’s loved one will be injured in the future,” diTrapano said. “There has been issue after issue in Dunbar and this is unfortunately only one in a pattern of problems.
“However, as each case brings attention to the city, the hope is that things get better and no one else has their Constitutional rights infringed at the hands of the police.
“When brave citizens who have their rights violated stand up and demand accountability they make the world safer for all of us. That is precisely what Ricky Baire did and what this settlement should symbolize.
“While Mr. Baire appreciates that the City has come forward and tried to set things right by resolving this case with a settlement, what he and all of our clients in the Dunbar cases have truly been pursuing is a sense of justice and the hope that this doesn’t happen again. As civil lawyers, it is our job to hold those accountable for injustices to task and that is exactly what has occurred in this case.”
Forbes agreed.
“We depend on the police in our society and most are truly brave and dedicated heroes that lay their lives on the line for us day in and day out,” he said. “However, the police are not above the law, and when they violate the same Constitution that they swore to uphold, those actions must be held to account.
“When citizens fear the police and the trust is broken, it affects all of us. We need to continue to trust that the brave men and women in uniform are there to protect us, to serve us, and to follow the law. There cannot be a two-tiered system of justice where law enforcement fails to abide by the Constitution and is not held to account. We need to have faith that those charged with enforcing our laws are abiding by them.
“This settlement is another brick in the wall of rebuilding that trust and restoring that faith. …
“The resolution in this case and the prior case with the Scott family should help blare that message throughout the area. The hope now is that it will be received.”
Forbes and diTrapano said the Baire settlement was reached shortly after Forbes deposed Winters for one of the pending lawsuits filed by Anthony Reese. For five hours, they said Winters repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against incriminating himself.
Three of the five officers named individually in the four lawsuits – including Winter and Mason – still are employed by the Dunbar Police Department. A fourth one now is with the Marmet Police. The fifth one, former Chief Brian Oxley, resigned from his position last summer.