MARTINSBURG — Two deputies with the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department have been terminated following an internal investigation.
The investigation is in relation to the alleged beating of a 16 year-old male by two West Virginia State Police troopers on November 19. Gov. Jim Justice brought attention to the incident on November 29 when he urged State Police to open an investigation into the case. Trooper First Class Michael Kennedy and Trooper First Derek Walker were suspended without pay.
On Wednesday, Berkeley County Sheriff Curtis Keller told The Journal in Martinsburg that he has suspended Deputies C.S. Merson and Austin Ennis. Department policy states both deputies have the right to a hearing in front of their peers, the newspaper reports.
As of Thursday, neither had scheduled such a hearing.
MetroNews reported on December 3 that Deputy Ennis had been suspended.
State Police Superintendent Jan Cahill described what he saw in a dashcam video showing the alleged incident on MetroNews “Talkline” on December 3.
“Five officers come onto the video. The juvenile is taken out from the vehicle. At that point, it almost looks like the vehicle is on fire; it’s smoking. He’s placed on the road. At that point, he’s trying to be handcuffed. It goes on for probably a minute, and that’s when you see a series of blows and resistance.”
Cahill continued, “At one point near the end you’ll see a body toss, where a person is picked up and thrown. I worry about gaining control of people, not throwing them away from us.”
Sheriff Keller is scheduled to appear on MetroNews affiliate WEPM’s “Panhandle Live” Friday morning at 9:45 to discuss the terminations.
You can listen in the eastern panhandle on 93.7 FM and 1340 AM or from anywhere at wepm.com.
By Mike McCullugh
