Jail captain sues city police, former officer over arrest attempt
A Washington County jail captain is suing city police and the former officer who allegedly attempted to arrest her for trying to follow jail policies when the officer wanted to have an apparently injured man committed to the jail in May.
Attorneys for Wendy Harris filed a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, alleging Joseph Moore violated her Fourth Amendment right to due process when he detained and handcuffed her for following jail policies.
“Defendant Moore’s arrest and detainment of (Harris) was done without any probable cause or any legal justification,” reads the lawsuit, submitted by attorneys Alicia Nocera and James Tallman. “Officer Moore took said actions out of anger because he was being told by a female that he could not get his way.”
Harris’ suit also contains claims of false imprisonment, gross negligence, infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery against Moore and his former department.
Moore resigned from the city police force earlier this month after details of his actions late May 27 and early the following morning came to light.
Moore arrested Benjamin Burgess, 34, of Chartiers Township – who was later charged with drunken driving – in the city and brought him to the jail about 11:40 p.m. A correctional officer on duty noticed a wound on the left side of Burgess’ head that had multiple staples.
Nurse Ron Markle was called down to check on Burgess. Harris’ lawyers wrote Markle was “concerned about the swelling around the injury to the head and (said) that hospital clearance would be required before Mr. Burgess would be accepted as a new commitment to the facility,” in line with jail protocol and state law.
When Harris stepped in to back up Markle’s assessment, Moore allegedly began “screaming abusively” at her and demanding he be allowed to leave the jail without Burgess, the suit said.
She went so far as to try to reach Moore’s supervisor by calling 911 to ask for help in explaining to Moore how to go about committing Burgess, according to the lawsuit.
While she was on the phone, Moore allegedly followed her from the vestibule into the processing area while “yelling that he was going to arrest her if she did not let him leave the facility without the new commitment.”
Even though a jail sergeant told Moore he couldn’t arrest her for doing her job, Moore allegedly banged a pair of handcuffs on the desk, still threatening to arrest her.
Surveillance footage from the jail that night shows Moore grabbing Harris’ arms and cuffing her hands behind her back as she appears to be speaking on the phone. The soundless video, which the Observer-Reporter obtained under the state Right-To-Know Law, shows him then leading her back around the desk to a door going to the vestibule. She continues standing there.
Court papers say Harris reportedly told the sergeant to stay on the phone until he reached Moore’s supervisor, and also instructed the staff to get in touch with Warden Edward Strawn about the situation.
Moore reportedly left Harris in cuffs until Moore’s supervisor, Lt. Robert Lemmons, and Strawn arrived.
“Captain Harris remained in handcuffs for approximately 20 minutes in front of her entire staff and several inmates,” according to court papers.
Strawn went on to reiterate the jail’s policies to Moore, who removed the handcuffs at Strawn’s request, the suit said.
The lawsuit also says Strawn agreed to allow Lemmons to call emergency medical personnel to check on Burgess at the jail “on this one occasion” if Moore and Lemmons would leave, which they did.
Ed Joyal, an attorney for the city’s insurer, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment Friday.
Markle previously told the Observer-Reporter he was fired that night following a conversation with Strawn, but he expected county officials to say he quit.