Civil Rights & Constitutional Law
Former jail nursing director Gary Brack sues County Executive Budish, MetroHealth CEO Boutros...
May 22, 2019
Friday, May 28, 2021
CLEVELAND, OH — Cuyahoga County has finally settled an additional civil-rights lawsuit over its—and its corrections officers’, blatant disregard for the safety and well-being of jail inmates. Glenn Mayer, who in October 2019 filed a federal civil-rights complaint against Cuyahoga County and corrections officer Darriell Hayes, accepted an $80,000 settlement of his lawsuit.
Captioned Glenn Mayer, Jr. v. Cuyahoga County, et al., Case No. CV-19-923255, the suit alleged claims for excessive force, assault, battery, failure to train and supervise employees, and related state-law claims, as well as destruction of public records.
The complaint alleged that on October 16, 2018, Mayer, who suffers from a neurological condition that causes muscle spasms, was receiving medication from a jail nurse when corrections officer Darriell Hayes attacked him from behind, grabbing Mayer’s neck and squeezing it. The complaint alleged that this unjustified use of force caused increased tremors. In response, Hayes continued to physically assault Mayer.
The complaint also alleged that the nurse administering the medication eventually intervened, telling Hayes to stop and explaining Mayer’s condition. Yet Hayes refused to do so. Mayer’s condition worsened over several days following the attack. He later was confined to a wheelchair. He has since progressed to using a walker but continues to experience physical weakness. Hayes failed to document his use of force against Mayer and claimed that he did not remember Mayer.
The County knew about Hayes’s violent tendencies and did nothing to stop them. According to performance reviews provided in response to a public-records request, Hayes’s supervising officers identified that, among other things, “Officer Hayes need[ed] to understand that he could not beat everyone in his housing unit,” and that he “has not been professional when communicating with inmates, using N word far to[o] much.”
Mr. Mayer’s complaint also alleged that the County destroyed surveillance video of the attack, in violation of Ohio’s Public Records Act.
Mr. Mayer was represented by Subodh Chandra of The Chandra Law Firm LLC. This is one of many lawsuits filed by Chandra Law against Cuyahoga County and its corrections officers over abuse, torture, and other misconduct in the jail. The others include
The Chandra Law Firm also filed an additional First Amendment–retaliation lawsuit against the County and other defendants on behalf of Nurse Gary Brack, who was removed from his position as nursing director after blowing the whistle on atrocious jail conditions to County Council.
The representation of Mayer was led by Subodh Chandra.
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