HUNTINGTON – A man says two Huntington police officers beat him, breaking bones and knocking out teeth.
John Charles Frank filed his complaint February 17 in federal court against the City of Huntington, Police Chief Phil Watkins and 10 unnamed city police officers.
“I’ve been involved in lawsuits against police officers and corrections officers over the last 20 years,” attorney Kerry Nessel told The West Virginia Record. “Never once have I sued a member of the Huntington Police Department. The reason I never do is because I know a lot of the officers. I’ve lived here since I was 12 years old.
Nessel
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“However, in this case, I felt I had no choice. I’m always reticent to take cases involving local officers, but I just had to do it because of the egregious nature of the allegations.”
According to the complaint, Frank was walking on the sidewalk at 1st Street and 7th Avenue on August 23, 2023, when he saw a Huntington Police Department cruiser pass him and circle back so the cruiser parked alongside him. He says the HPD officer exited the cruiser, approached Frank in “a physically aggressive manner,” asked Frank to put his hands behind his back and handcuffed him.
“Immediately upon being handcuffed, plaintiff was struck directly in the nose by the Kevlar-gloved fist of defendant John Doe 1, immediately fracturing plaintiff’s nose,” the complaint states. “Defendant John Doe 1 then struck plaintiff in the mouth resulting in plaintiff losing approximately 10 teeth and swallowing eight teeth.
“Plaintiff continued being struck by defendant John Doe 1 while restrained in the back of the HPD cruiser resulting in a broken orbital bone, lacerated lip and multiple serious and severe facial contusions. During this ferocious beating of plaintiff, defendant John Doe I had the audacity and callousness to spit in plaintiff’s face and threaten him with death.”
While being transported to Cabell Huntington Hospital, Frank says he was not fastened with a seatbelt while John Doe 1 “continuously quickly accelerated and decelerated to intentionally inflict more harm on the fully cooperative and retained plaintiff by bouncing him off the cage, windows, doors and floor in the back of the cruiser.”
Upon arrival at the hospital, Frank says the officer uncuffed him, threw him out of the cruiser while still in traffic and threatened that “he better come up with something good” to tell hospital staff. Frank says he ran to the emergency room and told staff he was beaten by an HPD officer.
Shortly, he says the officer entered the ER and told staff Frank had been in some sort of ATV or vehicular accident and pulled a knife on the officer. He says the officer also told staff Frank was “so high on drugs he was unresponsive to a Taser and pulled off its barbs and ran away from the police.”
“Cabell Huntington Hospital refused to treat plaintiff,” the complaint states. “None of these events transpired, and defendant John Doe I put forth in motion a cover-up story to protect himself from possible criminal and/or civil liability.”
Frank says he then was taken to HPD headquarters where he was kicked and beaten by another unknown officer. Frank says he spent about 90 minutes to three hours at headquarters “being berated, humiliated and further beaten” by the two officers until he was taken to St. Mary’s Hospital where he was treated for his injuries.
Frank says the two officers continuously threatened him by saying they had family members at Western Regional Jail who would kill him if he said anything about the incidents. Because he feared for his life, Frank says he didn’t tell St. Mary’s Hospital staff what had happened. He then was taken to Western Regional Jail after receiving numerous stitches, having his nose set, receiving various x-rays and other medical treatment.
“It is undisputed St. Mary’s Hospital staff found no burn marks or barb marks from a Taser on plaintiff’s body nor were any injuries consistent with an ATV or automobile accident,” the complaint states.
Frank accuses the defendants of excessive force and failure to provide timely medical care, both civil rights violations. He also accuses the city and Watkins of municipal liability. He also makes state law claims of harassment, unwelcome touching, civil battery, civil assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress, tort of outrage, atrocious conduct, invasion of his right to privacy, civil conspiracy.
In addition, he accuses the city, Watkins and possibly other unnamed HPD staff of negligent hiring, negligent retention, negligent supervision, negligence, civil conspiracy, tort of outrage and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Frank seeks joint and several actual damages, punitive damages, exemplary damages, loss of affection, pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, loss of quality of life, loss of service, loss of future earnings, loss of future benefits, loss of future wages, medical and dental care expenses, mental health expenses, court costs, attorney fees and other relief.
According to a report in The (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch, Frank was arrested August 23, 2023, and charged with stabbing his ex-girlfriend in July 2023. HPD had issued a malicious assault warrant for Frank, 35. The warrant said Frank “approached her from behind, stabbed her in the upper left arm with an unknown cutting instrument, and began hitting her with a pillow case filled with unknown hard objects … The victim stated that (the assailant) ran off, dropping the pillow case.”
The warrant also says Frank returned and punched the ex-girlfriend that evening. She reported the attacks after the second one, saying she hadn’t reported the first one to avoid hospital treatment. The victim said she began to use the pillow case as bandage to help stop the bleeding from the stab wound. Frank was lodged in Western Regional Jail with a $30,000 surety bond.
In 2022, Frank also was indicted in Raleigh County for burglary and petit larceny. And in October 2024, he was arrested in Raleigh County on a fugitive from justice charge.
But Nessel said Frank has got his life back together. He said the recent arrest was a result of not reporting for home confinement, but he said Frank hasn’t done drugs for 18 months now.
“He’s shocked to this day about this attack,” Nessel said. “It happened in broad daylight.”
In the federal civil suit, Frank is being represented by Nessel of The Nessel Law Firm in Huntington. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Robert C. “Chuck” Chambers.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia case number 3:25-cv-00096