News
Former W. Va. Jail Workers Accused of Unlawful Force
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Federal authorities say two former West Virginia jail workers have been charged with using unlawful force on a pretrial detainee.
The FBI, federal prosecutors and the Justice Department’s civil rights division announced in a news release 64-year-old Austin Garland Burke and 58-year-old Timmy Allen Kemper were indicted Wednesday on one count each of deprivation of rights under color of law — language used to describe crimes committed while on duty.
The statement says Burke and Kemper were internal affairs officers with the state Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority when the February 2015 incident occurred at the Western Regional Jail in Barboursville.
The indictment says the detainee was injured when explosive devices were deployed in his cell. He was then hogtied and transported to another correctional facility.
It’s unclear whether Burke and Kemper have attorneys.