Alabama inmate charges brutality, plans to file lawsuit for $3 million

By Ben Smith III
Staff Writer

A black inmate is preparing to file a $3 million federal lawsuit against several white police officers who allegedly shackled him, sprayed his eyes with Mace, spat on and hurled racial epithets at him in the Lanett, Ala., jail.

One of the officers was wearing a Ku Klux Klan hat, according to a white inmate who allegedly witnessed the Oct. 6 incident.

"For this to happen in 1991 is absolutely insane," said Will O. Walton III, a lawyer representing Nelson Wilson of Lee County. "The facts speak for themselves."

Mr. Wilson, 29, who is functionally illiterate and has an IQ in the low 50s, was arrested Oct. 6 for driving drunk and without a license, Mr. Walton said.

After Mr. Wilson was locked up, at least three officers allegedly handcuffed his arms and legs, held his head back, sprayed Mace into his eyes, then left him shackled to the cell bars without offering medical attention.

"I was cursed, spit at, threatened and called ‘nigger' throughout the heretofore mentioned incident," Mr. Wilson said in a sworn statement.

Mr. Walton said this is not an isolated incident.

"We're going to allege that there is a pattern or practice of excessive force at the Lanett Police Department. It has happened before and not just to black individuals," he said.

Mr. Walton added that two white inmates held in the same cell with Mr. Wilson have confirmed that he was abused.

Billy Hood, 21, who was being held on a theft charge, said: "They just kept antagonizing him. They finally came in with their night sticks out, backed him into a corner and sprayed his face with Mace."

Mr. Hood added that one of the officers was "walking around with a KKK hat on."

The Lanett City Council, made up of three white and two black members, Monday unanimously rejected a $3 million insurance claim filed by Mr. Wilson for the alleged abuse.

Mr. Walton said the city of Lanett will also be named in the lawsuit. Under Alabama law, attorneys must file claims with municipalities before filing lawsuits against them.

Two police officers have been suspended and two others will be demoted, said Bruce Maddox, a Montgomery lawyer representing a Lanett police lieutenant who was demoted to sergeant.

Lt. Carl Currington, a shift supervisor, says he was not present when the alleged incident took place and has appealed his demotion, Mr. Maddox said.

City officials refused to comment on the matter, except to say the alleged incident is not likely to spark racial tensions in this town of 9,000 that straddles the Georgia-Alabama border about 45 miles north of Columbus.

"This is strictly a law enforcement issue, not a racial issue," said Mayor Hoyt Owens. "We can't say anything more, since I have put it in the hands of our attorney."

The Associated Press contributed to this article.