CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A dashboard camera captured three
police officers beating a Clarksburg man in 2011, according to a lawsuit
claiming excessive force that was filed last week in federal court.
Joy Pumphrey was pulled over near the town of Nutter Fort
in Harrison County in October 2011 for having loud exhaust, according to the
complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Clarksburg on Tuesday.
Nutter Fort Patrolman J.E. Young and Harrison County
sheriff's deputies W.J. Cunningham and C.M. Heater had the man get out of his
vehicle for questioning and a search. Pumphrey was "known by the officers
to be unarmed," the lawsuit states.
"Suddenly, [Pumphrey] began to flee, on foot, from
the officers," the complaint states. He was subdued within a short
distance -- "still within the partial view of the dashboard camera."
The lawsuit states that the officers were then able to
take the man into custody without resistance. But they began "striking,
kicking and punching [Pumphrey] in the face, head and ribs," according to
the complaint, which claims the man was not resisting or fighting back.
Pumphrey, according to the suit, was rendered unconscious
for a period of time and suffered severe injuries to his face and ribs. He was
taken by ambulance to United Hospital Center in Bridgeport, where he was
diagnosed with several facial fractures, including his sinuses and nose and
several ribs.
"When the defendants repeatedly struck and punched
Joy Pumphrey in the face and ribs, no objectively reasonable officers could
have perceived Mr. Pumphrey as posing an immediate threat to the safety of the
officers or others," John Bryan, the man's attorney, wrote in the
complaint.
He was transferred to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown
because his severe facial fractures needed special treatment, the lawsuit
states.
Doctors there diagnosed him with an orbital floor
fracture, a zygomatic fracture, a right orbital fracture, and a laceration of
the left eye as the result of "assault," according to the complaint.
Nutter Fort Police Chief Ron Goodwin said Young still
works as a patrolman with his department. He said the county's prosecutor and
an independent agency investigated the incident and no charges were filed
against the officers.
Harrison County Prosecuting Attorney Joe Shaffer didn't
return a phone message.
A secretary with the Harrison County Sheriff's Department
said Cunningham and Heater still worked for the department. Sheriff Albert
Morano couldn't be reached for comment.
Pumphrey underwent surgery, but has permanent injuries to
his body and vision from the alleged attack, according to the complaint.
He is suing the officers individually, the Harrison County
Commission and the Town of Nutter Fort.
