Lawsuit: Beaumont man paralyzed after excessive force by jail officer

In June 2021, Christopher Shaw was being held at a jail in Beaumont, Tex., when a police officer grabbed him, flipped him over and slammed him onto the concrete floor, according to Shaw’s attorneys.

Shaw, who was handcuffed, landed on his head, and his spine was fractured in several places, a new lawsuit claims. It further alleges that Shaw was left in a cell for some 20 hours before receiving proper medical attention.

Now, Shaw is paralyzed from the chest down, the lawsuit says. He is suing Beaumont Police Officer James Gillen and the city of Beaumont, alleging that Gillen used excessive force and violated Shaw’s civil rights. Shaw is also suing CorrHealth, the jail’s medical contractor, alleging its employees ignored his pleas for medical assistance. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and attorneys fees.

Neither the Beaumont Police Department nor the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, immediately responded to requests for comment from The Washington Post late Sunday. Todd Murphy, the president of CorrHealth, declined to comment. Beaumont Police Chief James Singletary told KBMT last September that, while he felt “very badly about the gentleman that got injured,” Gillen “was just doing his job.”

Shaw appeared in a wheelchair at a news conference on Thursday next to his attorneys, who announced the lawsuit. They said his case mirrors that of Randy Cox, a Black man who in June suffered a severe spinal injury while being transported without a seat belt in the back of a police van in Connecticut. Cox’s attorneys say the incident left him paralyzed from the chest down. Shaw is also Black.

“This is happening all over the country,” Chance D. Lynch, a lawyer representing Shaw, said at the news conference. “Time and time and time and time again, we see with individuals their rights have been violated by the hands of those who took an oath to protect them.”

Shaw’s attorneys said they have seen video of this incident and are seeking for it to be released publicly.

Black man paralyzed after abrupt stop in police van, attorneys say

On June 12, 2021, Shaw was arrested on a misdemeanor public intoxication charge after Gillen encountered him that afternoon standing in the roadway, slurring his words, the lawsuit says. After being evaluated at the hospital, Shaw was transported by Gillen to the Jefferson County Correctional Facility in Beaumont, where deputies had to restrain Shaw for “noncompliance,” the lawsuit states.

At one point, Shaw “raised one of his legs” as Gillen stood in front of him, although he did not make contact with Gillen and was not attempting to strike him, according to the lawsuit.

Detention officers had Shaw under control when Gillen suddenly “threw an object” across the room, approached Shaw and yanked him away from the officers, according to the lawsuit. He then allegedly slammed Shaw to the ground, causing Shaw’s head to smack on the concrete floor. Shaw went unconscious, “with blood pouring from his head,” the lawsuit states.

Shaw was transported to the hospital for a second time but quickly released and taken back to the jail, according to the lawsuit. Upon arrival, “Shaw clearly showed signs of paralysis,” according to the lawsuit. He was placed in a wheelchair, and at times Gillen and another officer had to lift up Shaw’s legs to keep them from dragging on the ground, it adds. The officers also had to carry Shaw to the dressing room to be fitted in an inmate uniform.

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It’s not immediately clear why his injuries weren’t diagnosed during the hospital visit.

Shaw was then taken to a cell, where he was placed in a chair. He eventually slid out of the chair and onto the floor, according to the lawsuit. Shaw pleaded for medical assistance from jail staff and CorrHealth employees, but they would not help him, the lawsuit states. When he asked the attending nurse for help, she allegedly replied, “I won’t help you until you help yourself.”

Shaw had “defecated and urinated on himself multiple times due to his inability to control his bowels and kidney function,” the lawsuit states, adding that he remained on the ground for approximately 20 hours before an ambulance was called and Shaw was transported to the hospital again.

At the hospital, doctors determined that Shaw had several spinal fractures, and he received several emergency surgeries.

A grand jury indicted Shaw on a charge of assaulting a peace officer and cleared Gillen of wrongdoing, KFDM reported in September. Shaw in May rejected a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for 10 years with chances for parole, the Beaumont Enterprise reported. Preston Strickland, Shaw’s defense attorney, said Thursday that Shaw is fighting the charge, which he said is “nothing but a tactic and an attempt to minimize his justice that he deserves.”

The lawsuit says that Shaw is now bedridden and uses a wheelchair.

Gharrionna Cooper, Shaw’s niece, said at a rally in September that Shaw’s entire family has been affected by her uncle’s paralysis, the Enterprise reported. She said family members needed to visit Shaw every day just to help him get out of bed.

“My mama has to work two jobs to make sure she can keep her house and his house afloat because he can’t go to work for himself,” she said, according to the Enterprise. “And it just don’t make no sense. Just — we tired.”

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