Jury Decides Against Tulsa County In Excessive Force Lawsuit

A jury awarded a former Tulsa County jail inmate $175,000 for injuries he received during the booking process. In 2016 under the administration of former Sheriff Stanley Glanz, a man arrested for trespassing was injured, twice, while he was being booked into jail.

The inmate sued, claiming jailers used excessive force, and left with a cut above his eye, and a fractured knee. The attorney who represented him believes the jury was convinced by video of the incident that contradicted reports from the jailers about the injuries.

In 2016, Jesse Dalton was arrested for trespassing, and booked into David L Moss. When Dalton was being booked, video shows him being tackled in a waiting area after some erratic moves and shouting from him. Video shows jailers took him to a holding area, and while removing his shoes, with Dalton in handcuffs, a jailer pushes his face into a wall, then throws him to the ground face down.

Attorney Dan Smolen said as a result, Dalton suffered a fractured knee and cuts around his eye that required stitches.

“When they’re in handcuff and they’re compliant, you don’t take them and slam their head into the wall, and throw them down on the ground and fracture their knee. None of it is necessary, at all,” said Smolen.

At a trial that ended last week in Tulsa County District Court, a jury awarded Dalton $175,000, the maximum allowed for such a claim in state court.

“When the jury was looking at evidence of jailers who falsified reports, versus Mr. Dalton who was telling the truth the whole time, and then the truth came to light through the presentation of the video evidence, and the audio attached to it, I think the jury really got behind it," said Smolen.

A spokesperson for Sheriff Vic Regalado said the office would have no comment on the verdict, since the incident happened under the previous administration. Regalado was named as a defendant in the case because he now occupies the office and administers the jail.