The Metro government decided that they will settle a $160,000 lawsuit with Timothy Warren, who was assaulted by several guards at a Nashville jail.
The incident occured on Jan. 1, 2014 when Warren was taken into the booking area of the former Criminal Justice Center. He didn’t comply when he was told to sit down by a guard. Warren turned to the corrections officer as he walked toward the chair and the guard punched him in the face. After he fell to the ground, another guard grabbed his legs and slammed them to the ground. Then, another guard sprayed him with pepper spray.
Warren suffered a dislocation and fractured ankle from the incident.
The officer who punched Warren received a five-day suspension after he acknowledged that he had overreacted and wasn’t trained to hit an inmate in the face. The suspension never went into effect because the officer didn’t receive a copy of disciplinary findings within 10 days. The other officer involved in the incident was found not guilty of excessive force. The other two officers were voluntarily dismissed from the lawsuit.
Councilwoman Erica Gilmore said the assault was too severe for there to be no punishment for the officers.
“I would like to see how we could take action to say that we support disciplinary action,” Gilmore said, adding that the sheriff’s office should not wait until the case is litigated.
Council member Angie Henderson said that what happened to Warren seemed like a miscarriage of justice.
“When you have a video that somebody hit somebody in the face for no cause, and that person still works for the sheriff’s office, how do you think the community feels about that?” she asked.
Warren will receive $110,000 for medical expenses, future medical bills and pain and suffering, in addition to $50,000 for attorney fees.
If you would like information about personal injury claims, visit Cohen & Cohen to learn more.
