Dunbar police face another excessive-force lawsuit: What we know

According to his attorney, Anthony Reese is shown on surveillance camera footage being assaulted by Hannah, Winters and other officers on Dec. 3, 2022, at the Dunbar Police Department.

In the complaint, Reese alleges that he went to the Dunbar Police Department to speak to Winters.

The lawsuit alleges Reese approached the station on foot, saw Hannah in the parking lot and asked him if Winters was there. Hannah told Reese that Winters was not at the station and Reese turned to leave.

Video of the alleged assault

According to the lawsuit, Hannah deactivated his body camera but the surveillance camera at the station continued to record. The footage shows Hannah using his radio and then calling out to Reese before walking toward him, throwing him to the ground and striking him several times, the complaint alleges.

Six other officers, including Winters and the two unnamed officers, then exited the police station, gathered around Reese and continued to attack him while he was face down on the ground, according to the lawsuit.

Not only was the attack captured by the surveillance camera, the body cameras of other officers in the group recorded footage, which showed the officers hitting Reese while cursing at him, according to the lawsuit.

The attack lasted two minutes, after which the footage shows Reese being pulled to his feet and arrested while bleeding from the head, according to the lawsuit.

An ambulance was called to assess Reese, who was taken to WVU Thomas Hospital, where he was treated for multiple contusions and abrasions caused by blunt-force trauma to the head, scalp, face, abdomen, chest, back and knees, according to the complaint.

Details differ in Hannah’s arrest report

In his arrest report, Hannah stated that it was Reese who first approached him. In the report, Hannah wrote that he was immediately afraid Reese was reaching for a weapon.

Hannah also wrote in his report that a knife was recovered from Reese’s right pocket. However, the lawsuit alleges that a knife was never recovered, nor was one logged into evidence as a result of the arrest.

Hannah’s police report also alleges that Reese was unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol, but subsequent testing at the hospital and jail showed no traces of alcohol, according to the lawsuit.

Despite there being no probable cause or outstanding arrest warrants, Reese was assaulted, arrested and falsely charged with obstructing, assaulting an officer and public intoxication, according to the lawsuit.

Pattern of excessive force?

Dunbar police have shown a pattern of using excessive force, said Reese’s attorney, L. Dante diTrapano, who was also the attorney in the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Scott Jr., who died on July 24, 2022, after an encounter with Dunbar officers.

Winters was one of the officers named in that case, which was settled in August in U.S. District Court.

In that case, video footage showed Winters slam an already-handcuffed Scott head-first to the pavement in a move that Winters called a “suplex.�

Winters and Mason then denied Scott’s pleas for medical treatment for hours as he succumbed to a fatal brain injury, making jokes and even lying to health care workers about the cause of Scott’s fatal injury, diTrapano said.

Scott died of blunt-force trauma.

“Identical to the Scott case, the Dunbar police officers lie about the circumstances surrounding the beat down claiming Anthony Reese was drunk, carrying a knife, and was the aggressor,� diTrapano said by email on Friday.

According to diTrapano, just like in the Scott case, the video footage shows the truth of the officers’ encounter with Reese.

“Anthony Reese was assaulted without cause or provocation. The video clearly shows Mr. Reese walking away from Officer Todd Hannah, and Hannah calling to and pursuing Anthony after first disabling his own body camera,� diTrapano said. “The station video shows Hannah initiate the attack on Anthony, and shows Winters and five other officers join the attack after Anthony is facedown and helpless.�

Officials with the city of Dunbar could not be reached for comment on Friday.