Aaron Hunter was a 30-year- old inmate at the Escambia County Jail on June 1, 2018. At that time, he was serving a sentence of 270 days for a felony conviction of fleeing or eluding a law enforcement officer and two misdemeanor convictions of resisting an officer without violence and driving while license suspended. Around 11:00 a.m. on that day, Mr. Hunter was being escorted by Corrections Officer Timothy Owen Young from a work site to the main jail. Mr. Hunter was restrained in handcuffs and leg shackles. During the escort, Mr. Hunter complained about the tightness of the leg shackles to Officer Young, and both exchanged words. Without provocation, Officer Young shoved Mr. Hunter headfirst into a wall of a hallway. Security video from the Jail, obtained from the State Attorney's Office, depicted the unprovoked nature of the attack.
As a result of the incident, Officer Young was terminated from his employment in bad standing. A misdemeanor charge of battery was also instituted against Officer Young, which was eventually dismissed after Mr. Young completed a pretrial diversion program. In addition, Mr. Young voluntarily relinquished both his corrections officer and law enforcement officer certifications on February 8, 2019 rather than face a hearing on the revocation of these certifications.
From the encounter with Mr. Young, Mr. Hunter experienced a significant blow to his head and has suffered neurological symptoms from the trauma. In addition, he is suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome and a pre-existing major depressive disorder was exacerbated by the physical trauma. These psychiatric conditions have caused permanent disability for which he has applied for Social Security Disability benefits because of his inability to work since the incident.
There are a number of legal theories of liability that could be pursued by Mr. Hunter. Under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983, the County could be implicated because of allegations of a policy or custom of inadequate training to prevent excessive use of force. Officer Young could also be sued under 42 U.S.C. Section 1983 for the intentional and deliberate disregard of Mr. Hunter's civil rights. The County has a detention liability policy with Lloyd's of London, which is administered by Western Litigation, through Erica Bachmann, Assistant Vice President and Counsel for Western Litigation. Under the policy, the County would be responsible for payment of attorney's fees for any attorneys hired by Western Litigation to represent the County and Officer Young, up to the sum of $100,000.00, as there is a deductible under the policy. Moreover, in the event of a verdict against the County, should the County not be able to avoid liability through the entry of a final summary judgment, the County would be responsible for any sums for damages awarded within the deductible amount of $100,000.00.
Even if Mr. Hunter decided not to sue in Federal Court under 42 U.S.C. 1983, he would still have a claim for negligence in state court against the County for the actions of Officer Young. The Waiver of Sovereign Immunity Act, as set forth in § 768.28, Fla. Stat., would be applicable to a maximum limit of $200,000.00. Under the detention liability policy, the County would still be responsible for the first $100,000.00 in damages under the deductible in addition to its own defense costs for attorneys hired by Western Litigation to defend the County.
The attorney for Mr. Hunter demanded $350,000.00 to settle Mr. Hunter's claim. After extensive negotiations, Mr. Hunter's counsel agreed to a sum of $75,000.00. This sum is well within the range of possible verdicts and settlements for this type of claim.
Assistant Vice President and General Counsel Erica Bachmann recommends this settlement, as it avoids the possibility of a substantial verdict against the County under 42 U.S.C. 1983 which would exceed the state statutory cap of $200,000.00, as well as attorney's fees awarded under the Federal Civil Rights Act. |