GA prisoner sued a corrections officer for excessive force. Here’s how a Macon jury ruled
A federal court jury in Macon ruled Monday in favor of the defendant in a lawsuit filed by a state prison inmate who claimed a corrections officer beat him.
The complaint was filed by inmate Garrett Davis, who said the attack occurred on Oct. 7, 2019, in Wilcox State Prison in Abbeville in Wilcox County, Georgia.
After an argument between Davis and Capt. Tavares King, the defendant in the case, King allegedly lunged at Davis and choked him, according to the lawsuit.
While he choked Davis, he grabbed his handcuffs, held them in his hands like brass knuckles and punched the prisoner in the face, knocking him out. Davis sustained injuries on his hands, which he raised in an attempt to block the punch, and his eyebrow, according to the suit.
Davis filed a grievance with the Georgia Department of Corrections in 2020 but didn’t receive a response, the suit states. So Davis filed his suit against King. The case was remanded to federal court.
According to Davis, the attack was a violation of his constitutional rights and gave him “severe mental distress.” He sought $300,000 in damages.
King denied the allegations and claimed that as a state official, he was protected under the 11th Amendment and cannot be sued in federal court.
King further argued that he didn’t violate Davis’ rights, but acted within his duties as a corrections officer to maintain discipline and the results were minor, thus, Davis is not eligible to receive monetary damages from him.
Additionally, King warned against using evidence, lawsuits, or complaints involving Wilcox State Prison, as they are irrelevant to the main issue and could prejudice the jury’s decision during the trial.
While King was represented by an attorney, Charlie Cox, Davis chose to defend himself.
Previous wardens, counseling officers and nurses who worked at Wilcox State Prison during the incident took the stand Monday. They all corroborated King’s argument, saying they were unaware the incident happened.
King also took the stand and was questioned by Davis. He remained firm in his argument.
A counselor who investigated the incident at Wilcox State Prison, Kathy Hill, then took the stand. She declared in her testimony that, after checking the inmate’s medical history to confirm the events, she found that the injury sustained by Davis wasn’t related to the alleged fight with King.
The nurse who attended to his wounds, Randy Chastain, told the jury that the wounds observed on the inmate were 2 centimeters.
“Being in prison is a whole other world,” said Davis during his closing statement. “Standing on your own is a difficult process.”
Cox, on behalf of King, told the jury that while the inmate testified that he had lost a lot of blood, the warden, Lashandra Lofton, had testified that nothing stood outof the ordinary during the time of the incident.
The jury agreed and ruled in favor of the defendant, according to an email by Kim Tavalero, courtroom deputy for Chief Judge Marc Treadwell, who oversaw the case.
Davis is currently in Dooly State Prison, serving a life sentence after a jury found him guilty of the shooting death of Eugene Stinchcomb in 2012.
