Madison County jail inmate files lawsuit, accuses deputy of choking, punching him
An inmate at the Madison County Detention Center has accused a former jail deputy of putting him in a chokehold, punching him and knocking him unconscious, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court last week.
Elton Bailey, an inmate at the Madison County jail, is suing the jail, the guard and others over the alleged incident, according to court records. Earlier this month, the guard was federally indicted for the same incident, according to court records.
Madison County Jailer Steve Tussey, former jail deputy Gregory Evans, the Madison County Detention Center and Madison County Fiscal Court are all listed on the lawsuit, as Bailey and his attorneys allege all four parties were culpable in the assault.
Court documents allege that on April 9, 2021, inmate Elton Bailey was removed from his cell by Evans and other jail deputies and instructed to walk towards the booking area.
Bailey attempted to adjust the collar of his jumpsuit with his hands while walking but was being compliant with Evans’ instructions, according to the lawsuit. Court documents say Evans responded by shoving Bailey to the ground using the back of his jumpsuit.
Once on the ground, Evans placed his arm around Bailey’s neck and throat and strangled him with a chokehold, according to court documents. Bailey allegedly lost consciousness during the altercation.
While other jail deputies controlled Bailey’s arms, Evans repositioned himself and put his hand on the back of Bailey’s head, forcefully pushing it into the ground, according to court documents. While Bailey was still unconscious and being restrained by other jail deputies, Evans punched Bailey in the head four times as he held Bailey’s head with his other hand, the lawsuit alleges.
One of the other jail deputies prevented Evans from delivering more punches to Bailey, according to court documents. Court documents say Bailey suffered grievous bodily harm.
Court documents say Evans filed false and incomplete reports about the incident in an effort to conceal his own wrongdoing. Evans said in a report that he had ordered Bailey to turn and face the wall before the assault; that Bailey ignored him and walked away; and that Bailey tried to pull away from deputies, according to court records.
Evans is no longer employed by the jail.
Bailey is in jail on charges of murder and being a persistent felony offender, according to court documents and jail records. Bailey was charged over a 2017 shooting which occurred in Madison County in 2017.
Lawsuit: KY Jail is guilty of ‘repeated unconstitutional practices’
In their lawsuit, Bailey and his attorneys alleged that Bailey tried to seek justice over the incident but received no real help from jail staff. They said the Madison County jail repeatedly violated policies.
Bailey filed a grievance about the incident the same day it occurred, according to court documents. Three days later, a jail staff member replied to the grievance by saying, “thank you for reporting this incident to us, Chief Deputy, Tom Jones, is actively investigating this situation at hand. Again, thank you for reporting.”
Less than one minute after sending the response, the jail employee changed the status of the case from open to closed, according to court documents. Bailey never heard any additional responses about the grievance.
In September, Bailey sent an appeal letter to Tussey expressing his dissatisfaction with the disposition of the grievance. Bailey never received a response to his appeal letter.
Tussey is accused of having neglect towards the hiring process and training of the jail’s deputies, creating an increased risk of danger for the inmates, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges that both the Madison County Detention Center and the Madison County Fiscal Court knew that jail policies and procedures were routinely violated and unenforced by its jailers and deputy jailers, even before the alleged assault on the day in question.
The ordeal which Bailey went through was “part of a pattern and practice of excessive, unwarranted physical force and abuse by deputy jailers to detainees,” Bailey’s attorneys said in the lawsuit.
Bailey alleged in his lawsuit that his rights were violated. He also alleged that he was a victim of battery, and that Tussey was negligent in his hiring and training processes. Bailey is seeking money for physical and emotional pain, medical expenses, humiliation, embarrassment, distress, attorney’s fees and other costs, according to court records.
The defendants in the lawsuit hadn’t filed a reply to the allegations as of Thursday morning.
Herald-Leader reporter Bill Estep contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 17, 2022 at 11:52 AM.
