June 13--A Kinston man currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for committing robbery has sued Lenoir County Sheriff Billy Smith, claiming one of Smith's lieutenants used "malicious," "sadistic" and "torturous" tactics during his arrest three years ago.
Thomas Ray Dawson, Jr., 31, leveled the accusations last month in filing a civil lawsuit at the Lenoir County Clerk of Courts Office that read a culture of disregard for basic constitutional rights has prevailed in Smith's office.
The convicted felon who is being housed at the Bertie Correctional Institute in Windsor singled out LCSO Lt. Eddie Eubanks for violating Article 1 of the North Carolina Constitution, specifically the subsection pertaining to "cruel and unusual punishment."
Dawson claims Eubanks caused him "scarring," "disfigurement" and "egregious pain and suffering" when he allegedly broke Dawson's jaw on Dec. 5, 2009, outside the Lenoir County Jail for attempting to flee police.
Talks to reach a settlement in the case remain ongoing. The sheriff and his attorney Scott C. Hart of New Bern have until July 14 to respond to the allegations, as the two were given their second extension on Tuesday in the case.
Dawson and his attorney, C. Tyrell Clemons of Greenville, have demanded more than $10,000 in relief and punitive damages in an amount that "bears a rational relationship" to the sum needed to punish Eubanks and Smith.
Plus, they want a jury trial against the police agency for assault and battery.
Eubanks and Smith, as of Tuesday, remained uncharged in the case. Hart did not immediately return phone messages from The Free Press Tuesday and Smith was unavailable for comment.
Neither was the sheriff's staff.
"I cannot comment on this pending litigation," said Chief Deputy Chris Hill, media liaison for the Lenoir County Sheriff's Office.
The assault
The lawsuit dates back to Dec. 5, 2009, when Eubanks and two other deputies came to Dawson's home at 1024 Bowden Street in Kinston to investigate an armed robbery.
The officer arrested Dawson on six felony charges, including robbery with a dangerous weapon, second-degree kidnapping and first-degree burglary. Eubanks placed him in Eubanks' squad car with zero problems, the filing read.
Upon arrival at the Lenoir County Jail, though, Dawson became "afraid" and managed to free himself from his handcuffs. When the door to the patrol cruiser opened, he took off running, the suit states.
He made it one block before Eubanks pulled out his service weapon and shouted, "Get your black (behind) on the ground now," documents show.
Dawson testified he surrendered immediately, laying on the ground and placing his hands behind his back in a "position of submission."
Eubanks, weighing 200 pounds at the time -- 50 more than Dawson -- walked towards Dawson and "forcefully, aggressively and excessively" dropped his knee and all of his body weight on Dawson's neck, the civil order states.
He then took his forearm and pushed Dawson's face into the ground and punched him in the head, the lawsuit adds.
'Sadistic and malicious'
Eubanks' "assaultive conduct" caused Dawson to suffer a broken jaw and to have extreme bouts of vomiting and bruising to his brain, Clemons claimed.
The attorney wrote in the filing Eubanks' actions "served no legitimate enforcement objective," are an example of "sadistic and malicious" police force and were committed in a "reckless, grossly negligent and callous disregard" for Dawson's state-protected rights.
Clemons goes on to attack Smith, contending he "acted with deliberate indifference towards citizens' rights."
"The sheriff wrongfully decided to allow this conduct to continue, or in the alternative, failed to appropriately discipline or terminate (Eubanks) and other involved or enforce policies and procedures sufficient to eliminate such conduct," he wrote.
Clemons stated Smith "wrongfully" failed to properly train and supervise his deputies in a manner requiring adherence to written rules and procedures.
Eubanks' nature, the lawyer, said was that a "reasonable and prudent" person could have foreseen as inappropriate.
Dawson eventually had his criminal charges consolidated in superior court on Aug. 11 and was convicted as a habitual felon. He is projected to get out of prison in 2017.
Wesley Brown can be reached at 252-559-1075 or [email protected].
Copyright 2012 - The Free Press, Kinston, N.C.
