Coley v. Lucas Cnty., No. 14-3134 (6th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseHis family was told that Benton, a pretrial detainee, died of natural causes in the Lucas County jail in 2004. In 2008, after an FBI investigation, family members discovered that jail employees had disconnected medical equipment while returning him from the hospital after treatment for seizures, beat Benton and sprayed him with chemicals, shoved Benton to a cement floor while he was in handcuffs, held him in a chokehold to the point of unconsciousness, left him to die in his cell, and then engaged in a cover-up with the aid of their Sheriff and filed suit under 42 U.S.C. 1983. The civil suit was stayed while two officers were criminally prosecuted for their roles in Benton’s death. Both were convicted and sentenced. The district court denied motions by Officer Schmeltz, Sergeant Gray, and Sheriff Telb, that asserted qualified and state statutory immunity. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, noting the need for “expeditious handling” and that even Telb ratified the conduct of his subordinates who violated Benton’s clearly established Fourteenth Amendment rights.
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