HART COUNTY, Ky. (LEX 18)– The Horse Cave Police Department is being sued for allegedly arresting someone unlawfully and assaulting them while in custody.
Anthony Owens and Sheila Bryant are being represented by Morgan & Morgan attorney Adrian Mendiondo.
Former Horse Cave Police Chief Sean Henry, former officers Larry Dale Martin and Chris Trulock, Horse Cave Mayor Randall Curry and the city of Horse Cave and its police department are named as defendants in the lawsuit, which alleges unlawful search and seizure, among other accusations.
The attorney alleges that Owens was arrested on multiple counts of terroristic threatening and retaliating against a witness. Mendiondo says that the officers entered Owens’ home without a valid search warrant and that he was grabbed and forced to the ground by officers who used racial slurs against him.
The criminal charges against Owens and Bryant were eventually dismissed.
A statement about the lawsuit was issued:
“Our lawsuit alleges that the Horse Cave Police Department harassed, threatened, physically abused, and unlawfully arrested my clients, Anthony Owens, and his mother, Sheila Bryant. Mr. Owens and Ms. Bryant were targeted by the Horse Cave PD in retaliation for Mr. Owens speaking out on social media about the department’s corruption and unlawful activity. The Department’s actions violated my clients’ constitutional rights and caused substantial harm to my clients and the community at large. Trust between officers and the community they serve is paramount; when that trust is breached, it prohibits effective policing and places both civilian and officer lives at risk. Police corruption is grave abuse of power, it destroys the public trust, and it endangers us all. The Horse Cave Police Department and all those who sanctioned its actions must be held accountable to ensure the misconduct ends here.”
Thanks,
Leslie
