The men, through their attorneys John Camillus and Amy E. Norris, allege corrections officers have repeatedly beat and threatened them, once so severely the Bayong lost a tooth.
“(Bayong) came to the United States to escape brutal conditions in his own country, with hope for safety. Instead, he continues to be physically beaten by correctional officers while detained by ICE for civil immigration detention at Butler County Jail,” the attorneys wrote in the complaint.
“One of the beatings was so brutal that Mr. Bayong lost his front tooth. The guards continue to make threats such as ‘I hope you die (expletive),’ and, after being pushed down the stairs, ‘When you get down the stairs, I am going to beat all the teeth from your mouth.’”
Adem, who has lived in the United States since he was young, considers this country his home, the attorneys said in the complaint.
“He is an observant Muslim. He has been repeatedly physically beaten by correctional officers while detained by ICE for civil immigration detention at Butler County Jail. During the same guard beating where Mr. Bayong lost his front tooth, Mr. Adem was beaten until his face was swollen, and a correctional officer grabbed his prayer rug and almost stuffed it into a toilet before another correctional officer intervened.” according to the complaint.
The series of alleged assaults occurred while the men were housed at the jail between August and Dec. 1. They are no longer inmates at the Butler County Jail.
On Monday, the jail housed more than 300 federal prisoners, 84 ICE inmates and 280 inmates from the U.S Marshal’s Office. They are usually housed in one area of the jail facility.
The lawsuit says there are witnesses to the abuse.
“As a direct and proximate result of Butler County, Butler County Board of Commissioners, and Butler County Jail’s policy, custom, or practice of failing to adequately supervise and train staff at Butler County Jail, Mr. Bayong and Mr. Adem suffered constitutional injury and were subjected to cruel and unusual punishment,” the attorneys said in the lawsuit.
A jury trial has been requested.
Sheriff Richard Jones said the inmates who filed the lawsuit were noncompliant while in the jail and appropriate use of force was used.
“These two prisoners have been noncompliant and anytime there is a use of force, there are interviews. They (the inmates) were seen by the infirmary and there is an investigation. That was done before any lawsuit was filed,” Jones said. “We found no wrongdoing at all with our staff.”
The sheriff said Bayong did not have his tooth knocked out by a corrections officer. Because of the lawsuit, Jones said he could not comment further.
About the Author
