CLARKSBURG — A federal lawsuit has been filed against Westover’s chief of police and two of its officers, claiming the civil rights of Andre Howton were violated when he was arrested and beaten on New Year’s Day 2019.
The suit names Chief Richard Panico, and officers Zachary Fecsko and Aaron Dalton as defendants.
Multiple attempts to reach Westover officials for comment were unsuccessful.
Fecsko, a white man in his 20s, pulled Howton, a Black man in his 50s, out of his home while saying “get your ass out here boy” before throwing him to the ground and striking him at least 13 times, according to the suit.
The suit alleges Fecsko called Howton “boy” because of his race.
Howton suffered multiple fractures to facial bones, lost three teeth and suffered other “serious and permanent injuries,” according to the suit.
The entire call was captured on Dalton’s body camera. Footage is available on The Dominion Post’s YouTube page.
Howton was charged with four crimes — all of which were later dropped — and none of which were related to the reason the officers were called in the first place — which was to remove another person from Howton’s home, the suit said.
After he was arrested and beaten, instead of being given medical treatment, Howton was arraigned and taken to North Central Regional Jail — which would not accept him due to the severity of his injuries, according to the suit.
Instead of taking Howton to the hospital, Fecsko took him home and said something to the effect of “don’t say I didn’t show you any mercy,” according to the suit.
Fecsko was hired by the WPD despite being charged with battery and burglary as a result of a dispute with an ex-girlfriend, according to the suit.
The Dominion Post previously reported on those charges.
Dalton was employed by the Fairmont Police Department prior to being hired by Westover, the suit said.
He was terminated or encouraged to resign for misconduct or unsatisfactory conduct, the suit said. He was sued for taking part in an “unprovoked attack” on two men at a party. That suit was settled within three months.
A note in Dalton’s personnel file, obtained by a Freedom of Information Act request, states, “[h]e was involved in a lawsuit filed against the city for racial profiling??”
Chief Panico has publicly condoned the actions of Fecsko and Dalton, the suit said.
The suit claims Panico is liable as the department’s policymaker and that he has a history of hiring officers “who he knows have committed acts of violence and/or have a propensity to do so.”
It also claims officers retaliated against Howton and used excessive force in violation of the First Amendment, violated Howton’s Fourth Amendment right, failed to intervene in the violation of his Fourth Amendment right, intentionally inflicted emotional distress and committed battery.
The suit seeks compensatory damages for past and future economic losses and expenses, general damages for physical pain, mental suffering and emotional distress, punitive damages, pre-and-post-judgment interest, and attorney fees.
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