A federal civil rights lawsuit filed on June 17 accused a group of New York State corrections officers of brutally beating Messiah Nantwi to death while he was incarcerated at Mid-State Correctional Facility in Marcy.
The lawsuit accused members of a Correction Emergency Response Team of fatally beating Nantwi, 22, on March 1, pummeling him with fists, kicks and batons at times while he was handcuffed. Several corrections officers also allegedly conspired to cover up the civil rights violations by planting a makeshift knife in Nantwi’s cell, cleaning up his blood and submitting false records in an attempt to justify the unjustified assault, the lawsuit claims.
Mid-State Superintendent Bryan Hilton was also named as a defendant for failing to prevent the deadly incident, along with 20 other Corrections Department employees whose names are currently unclear but who allegedly participated in the beating or failed to intervene, court records show. Some officers also allegedly purposefully turned their body-worn cameras off or faced away to shroud the incident in secrecy, the lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York by Dahlia Damas, the Public Administrator of New York County, on behalf of the estate of Nantwi. State Corrections Department officials declined to comment on pending litigation, which is seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for alleged violations of constitutional rights.
What did Nantwi’s family, attorneys say about federal lawsuit?
In a media statement announcing the lawsuit, attorneys for Damas asserted evidence shows Nantwi was “restrained and defenseless when at least 18 officers beat him for over five minutes, or stood by and failed to intervene to stop the fatal assault.”
The 61-page complaint also noted the deadly incident came amid a series of violent and deadly clashes between corrections officers and those incarcerated at Mid-State Correction Facility and other state prisons, including high-profile cases during a prison strike earlier this year that put corrections workers and incarcerated people at risk.
“These deaths are part of a disturbing pattern of violence and cover-ups in New York’s prisons that (the state Corrections Department) has long ignored,” said Earl S. Ward, an attorney for Damas.
Patterson Nantwi said his son, Messiah Nantwi, was “loved by many, and he deserved to be treated with dignity and respect — not brutally beaten while handcuffed and defenseless by those whose job it was to protect him.”
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“I want justice for Messiah by holding those responsible accountable and ensuring that no other family suffers this kind of tragedy, and this lawsuit is a part of that fight,” the father said in the statement.
While the lawsuit’s early filing did not specify the amount of damages being requested, the initial complaint included details of several high-profile court cases accusing corrections officers of excessive and deadly use of force, including details of legal settlements and jury awards ranging from $650,000 to $9.25 million.
The lawsuit alleged that corrections officers, supervisors and the prison administration violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, which protect in part against cruel and unusual punishment and rights violations of incarcerated people.
Who was named in the Nantwi lawsuit?
In addition to the prison superintendent, the lawsuit accused Mid-State correction officers Joshua Bartlett, Caleb Blair, Daniel Burger, Dean Cross, Thomas Eck, Frank Jacobs, Adam Joseph, Craig Klemick, Zachary Lallier, Jonah Levi, Nathan Palmer, Ryan Russell, Tristan Sheppard and Nicholas Vitale.
Several sergeants at Mid-State were also named as defendants, including Francis Chandler, David Ferrone, Michael Iffert, and Donald Slawson.
Are there criminal charges?
The civil lawsuit comes as a criminal case progresses in another courtroom, which has already resulted in two corrections officers pleading guilty to charges connected to the incident.
More: Another CO in Messiah Nantwi case pleads guilty
After the criminal indictment was unsealed in April, Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick indicated that a number of corrections officers were cooperating with his office.
This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Federal lawsuit accuses NY corrections officers of beating Messiah Nantwi to death
Reporting by David Robinson, New York State Team / Observer-Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
