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| Wilson pays $95,000 to settle jail inmate's suit |
| By The Tennessean |
| Published: 04/19/2004 |
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Wilson County (Tenn.) officials said last week that they had reached an out-of-court settlement with an inmate who filed a civil suit claiming he was beaten by jail officers in 2002. The settlement, reached in February, comes as federal officials investigate alleged inmate abuse. Other civil suits alleging abuse have been filed against the Wilson County Jail. Two separate civil cases were settled in March. In the February settlement, the county paid $95,000 to Paul Edward Armes, who claimed jailers beat him after his April 2002 arrest on charges of driving under the influence and driving with a revoked license. Armes sued Wilson for $4 million in punitive damages, an unspecified amount of money for compensatory damages and payment of lawyer's fees. In his suit, Armes alleged that he suffered from a fractured eye socket as a result of the beating. Wilson County Attorney Mike Jennings said the county ''strongly disputed'' Armes' claims that his injuries were the result of intentional harm inflicted by jailers. Jennings said the county's position is Armes had to be forcibly subdued because of his ''belligerent'' actions that included attempting to punch officers. ''We do not feel any liability ... but he did get hurt in a struggle and those (medical costs) would have been the county's responsibility no matter how they occurred,'' Jennings said. ''He had some fairly substantial medical bills. As a county jail, we accept inmates and we are responsible for their health needs, whether they come into jail with that need or a need that develops at the jail.'' Attempts last week to contact Armes or his attorney, Adam Parrish, were not successful. In two other settlements, the county paid $18,000 to the mother of inmate Derrick Logue. The suit claimed improper medical care for Logue, who died days after going into a diabetic coma. The county also paid $20,000, plus $2,275 in attorneys' fees, on behalf of William Serrano, who claimed he was repeatedly subjected to a stun gun. Attorney Jerry Gonzalez handled both cases and said he has three others pending against the county. He also said he had two cases that were settled with the county last year. In the settlements, the county has maintained no admission of liability. The federal investigation surrounds the January 2003 death of Walter Steven Kuntz, 43. He was arrested Jan. 12 by Lebanon police and booked in Wilson County Jail. He died two days later. The medical examiner ruled his death a homicide. The county has since settled a civil suit filed by Kuntz's family members for $400,000. |
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