Their son was arrested for public intoxication but left this Kentucky jail brain dead

A Virginia family is accusing Rowan County Detention Center employees of needlessly choking, tasing and pressing down on their son’s neck and back in a wrongful death lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Justin Ciccone, 34, was arrested in Morehead for alcohol intoxication in a public place early on May 1. According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday, it does not appear a sobriety test, a breathalyzer or a blood panel was taken to determine Ciccone’s alcohol level or if there were drugs in his system.

Later on May 1, Ciccone was in a cell alone and naked and behaving in an aggressively irrational manner, the lawsuit states. He had been in the jail for 15 hours.

At about 5:25 p.m., jail employee Thomas Dwayne Jones tried to give Ciccone a dinner tray through the door slot of his cell, according to the lawsuit. Ciccone refused his tray and began taunting Jones “with behavior that clearly indicated his mental illness,” the suit states. Ciccone was alone in his cell, where he was restrained and not engaged in any self-harm or destructive behavior, the suit contends.

The lawsuit states Jones stuck his taser through the food slot and threatened to tase Ciccone. Ciccone attempted to knock the taser out of Jones’ hand, but failed, according to the lawsuit.

A timeline of events included in the lawsuit says Jones decided to confront Ciccone and radioed coworker Kap Keller to open Ciccone’s cell door. Ciccone attempted to escape his cell and an altercation between Jones and Ciccone occurred. Jail employee Alyssa Dulen rushed to the altercation, jumped on Ciccone’s back, applied a chokehold and pulled him to the ground, the lawsuit states.

Employees Ryan Moore, Jeffrey Albert Harmon and Tammy Conley came to the scene. The lawsuit alleges they, along with Jones, struck and tased Ciccone repeatedly.

“After Justin had been subdued and handcuffed, and was face-down on the ground and obviously unresponsive, Defendants Jones, Moore, and/or Harmon can be seen variously pressing down on Justin’s neck and back,” the lawsuit states.

The jail employees attempted to resuscitate Ciccone.

Ciccone was taken to University of Kentucky Hospital in Lexington. He had multiple cuts and bruises, including a large contusion on the left side of his head and a black eye, acute kidney injury, fractures of multiple ribs on his left side and a spine fracture. A blood panel taken showed he had no alcohol or illicit drugs in his system at the time, according to the lawsuit.

“After the altercation, Justin never exhibited any spontaneous movement, and after brain death was confirmed, supportive care was withdrawn and on May 3 he died from his injuries,” the lawsuit states.

Ciccone grew up in Harrisonburg, Virginia and was driving to Colorado, his second home, according to his obituary.

“He dispensed strong hugs and challenging ideas, found joy in his successes and warmth in his relationships, and looked for peace in many places,” his obituary stated. “He was a friendly, bright, proud, and intense young man with a big and loving heart and the spirit of a warrior.”

Rowan County Judge-Executive Harry Clark and Jailer Wes Coldiron also are listed as defendants in the case.

Plaintiffs Jacqueline B. Ciccone and Brion D. Ciccone, the parents of Justin Ciccone, contend that alleged misconduct by the jail staff was a foreseeable consequence of a failure by the county and the jailer to enact and enforce policies on the “treatment of inmates exhibiting obviously serious medical/mental health issues and diminished capacity, and the appropriate occasion for and use of force.”

Clark offered his condolences to the Ciccone family.

“I hate it,” Clark said. “That’s all I can say.”

He deferred other questions to the county attorney.

County Attorney Cecil Watkins said a criminal investigation was conducted by the Morehead Police Department and no charges were filed.

Attorney Greg Belzley, who represents the family, said Ciccone’s mental health crisis was ignored and mishandled, and called the jail staff’s response “really, really appalling.”