Lawsuit alleges Newton police broke man’s collarbone; medical care not given in Sedgwick County Jail

A lawsuit alleges that a 295-pound Newton police sergeant broke a man’s collarbone in an arrest after a car chase, that other officers piled on and that the man then suffered with a severe fracture for two weeks in the Sedgwick County Jail without getting medical care that he needed.

The lawsuit complaint, filed on Jan. 14 in Sedgwick County District Court, says that officers “conspired to hide evidence regarding their use of excessive force, including a video of the encounter.”

Newton City Attorney Bob Myers said Friday that it is too early in the legal process for him to comment.

The 12-page complaint also alleges that the Sedgwick County Jail has a “de facto policy of avoiding medical care” for inmates.

“To me, it’s just unfathomable that someone would allow someone to remain in jail with that kind of break and not get him the medical care that was needed,” James A. Thompson, the attorney bringing the lawsuit, said by phone Friday. Thompson is representing Bret William Easley of Oklahoma, the man with the broken collarbone.

“This was a break that everybody knew about and refused to do anything about,” Thompson said.

County Counselor Eric Yost said Friday that he has not yet seen the lawsuit document and can’t comment on it, but added: “Generally speaking, we take great care to make sure that people in the jail are provided with the appropriate medical care.”

The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000, the standard minimum amount early in a lawsuit, and it names as defendants the City of Newton; Sedgwick County commissioners; Newton police Sgt. Jason Thompson; Newton police Officers Michael Stinger, Levi Minkevitch and Jordan Garver; Newton Patrolman Brian Rousseau; Newton Assistant Police Chief William Koonce; Harvey County sheriff’s Deputies Carmen Clark and Paul Jones; Park City police Sgt. Trent Johnson; unknown Sedgwick County Jail deputies; and Conmed, the jail medical contractor.

Attorneys for Harvey County and Park City couldn’t be reached for comment.

The lawsuit alleges excessive force and denial of medical care for a pretrial detainee, violating Easley’s constitutional rights.

In addition to the lawsuit over the broken collarbone, James Thompson is representing clients in ongoing lawsuits over three shootings by Wichita police and one shooting by a Cowley County deputy.

In Easley’s injury, the court document gives this account: On Jan. 17, 2014, Easley was being chased by Newton officers and Harvey County deputies on I-135. He eventually stopped at Milepost 36 in Harvey County and put his hands up and out of the car window as officers approached. He was cooperating and submitting, it says.

Jason Thompson, a 6-foot-4 Newton police sergeant, “yanked Mr. Easley from the vehicle and threw him to the ground landing on top of him with all of his 295 pounds of weight and breaking Mr. Easley’s collar bone,” the lawsuit complaint says.

Other officers “jumped on Mr. Easley pulling him in multiple directions.” The force also involved use of a Taser, the lawsuit says.

Officers can be heard on audio saying “something popped” when they arrested Easley and saying they think his collarbone is broken, it says.

At Newton Medical Center, staff members said Easley needed an orthopedic surgeon. The Medical Center released Easley into Jason Thompson’s custody, it says.

The Newton police sergeant then gave custody of Easley to Johnson, a Park City police sergeant, who took Easley in for interrogation, the complaint says.

From Park City, Easley was taken to the Sedgwick County Jail and remained there for about two weeks.

The lawsuit doesn’t give the details of why he was being held.

During his time in jail, Easley “repeatedly requested medical treatment” from jail deputies and the medical contractor, but “such treatment was denied,” the lawsuit says. He “was in tremendous pain.”

Eventually, the jail released Easley, and he returned to Oklahoma City, where relatives took him to a hospital that did emergency surgery, inserting a metal plate and 11 screws to repair the fracture, the lawsuit says.

His medical bills exceeded $35,000, and he will need more care, it says.

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Lawsuit alleges Newton police broke man’s collarbone; medical care not given in Sedgwick County Jail."