It’s already bad when you’re in prison, but when you are subjected to police brutality there’s another level of anger.
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A New York jail official in Tioga County was caught on surveillance savagely beating an inmate in a video released on Tuesday. As a result, a settlement of $62,500 and the cop’s resignation was awarded to the inmate David Coffey.
Lt. David Monell allegedly said: “You’re going to regret this day,” and then threw at least six haymakers at inmate Coffey before he appeared to choke the man for about 10 seconds.
Coffey had been pepper-sprayed moments before the video begins because of “uncooperative behavior,” sheriff’s deputies said when the incident occurred in September of 2010.
Coffey suffered a gouged eye and an infection that went untreated for months in jail, abrasions on his face and neck and a swollen jaw.
Coffey’s attorney, William Friedlander, filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriff’s office and Monell on the inmate’s behalf saying, “You wouldn’t treat a dog like that.”
The lawsuit resulted in a $62,500 settlement in January, $50,000 of which is being paid by Tioga County taxpayers.
It’s unclear why Monell attacked Coffey in the first place, though he alleged that the inmate spit at him at one point during the incident. Either way, it’s no excuse for beating a man so viciously.
