Attorneys for Jefferson County Sheriff Gerald Robinson have denied claims that he allowed unauthorized and untrained personnel to escort juveniles to court, resulting in the alleged beating of one of the juveniles.
In an amended complaint filed in federal court last week, Fayetteville attorney J. Jason Boyeskie, who is representing Chadarious Avery, says that Robinson’s alleged failure to train or supervise Roderick Shelby “was a direct cause of the violation of (Avery’s) constitutional rights.”
Robinson was added to a lawsuit Boyeskie filed last year against Shelby, Juvenile Court Judge Earnest E. Brown Jr., and Jose Rivera, another employee at the juvenile detention center.
The lawsuit claims that Shelby, who is chief of staff for Brown, beat Avery while taking him back to the juvenile center after an appearance in court April 18, 2011.
The lawsuit claims that while Shelby and Rivera were taking Avery back to his room, Avery “may have muttered something under his breath; it is unclear whether (Avery) actually did say something, what the statement was, or to whom it was directed (if anyone).
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“Immediately following the alleged comment and apparently in response thereto, Shelby pounced on (Avery),” the lawsuit alleges, claiming that Shelby grabbed the boy by the neck, drove him into a wall, and repeatedly bashed the boy’s head into the wall.
Rivera allegedly assisted in restraining Avery during the incident, the lawsuit says. It goes on to say that “the amount of force (used by Shelby) was severe, violent and sufficient enough to break or fracture one of his (Shelby’s) own hands.”
Karen Walls, the boy’s mother, told The Commercial last year that when she saw her son the following day, “both his eyes were blackened, he had cuts and bruises to his arms, legs, face and neck, and scrapes and abrasions to his legs” from shackles Avery had been wearing when he was taken to court.
The amended complaint filed by Boyeskie claims that Robinson’s conduct “in allowing Shelby and Rivera to interact and escort detainees despite a lack of training, equipment or even authorization amounts to failure to train or supervise as well as deliberate indifference that subject Sheriff Robinson to liability.”
The response to the complaint filed Monday denies that allegation and goes on to claim that Rivera and Shelby further assert that they were not employees of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department nor were they under the supervision of Robinson at the time of the incident.
After the alleged beating, Avery’s mother filed a complaint with the sheriff’s office, which conducted an internal investigation, and a separate investigation by the Arkansas State Police was also conducted, with the results of that investigation being forwarded to Prosecuting Attorney S. Kyle Hunter.
After reviewing the State Police Investigation, Hunter said he would not file criminal charges against Shelby.
“By this decision not to file criminal charges, I am not indicating an opinion on the appropriateness or inappropriateness of Mr. Shelby’s conduct regarding the situation,” Hunter said at the time. “A civil case has been filed in Federal Court regarding this matter and those issues will be decided in that forum.
“From analyzing the video evidence in conjunction with witness statements and my own interview of witnesses, there is not sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Shelby committed a criminal battery,” Hunter said in a news release July 25, 2011.
Avery was 14 at the time of the alleged attack and was being held at the juvenile center on a robbery allegation. After the incident, he was sent to a juvenile facility in Batesville, then to a center in Dermott after being placed in custody of the Arkansas Department of Human Services.
The lawsuit also alleges that after the incident, Brown suspended Shelby, then reinstated him.
“In short, Judge Brown’s response to Shelby’s horrific attack on (Avery) was to reward Shelby with a two-month vacation,” the lawsuit said.
Brown, who was an original defendant in the lawsuit, was subsequently dismissed by federal court.
In addition to seeking actual and compensatory damages, Boyeskie is seeking punitive damages, attorney fees, costs and expenses, and has asked for a jury trial.
Attorneys for Robinson, Shelby and Rivera have asked the federal court to dismiss the lawsuit, and award them costs expended, including attorney fees. They also said if the case goes to trial, they want a jury.