Dismissal of suit over firecracker thrown at jail inmates is denied

Jace Radke

Thursday, Dec. 23, 2004 | 8:54 a.m.

A federal judge has denied a motion by attorneys for Metro Police asking for the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against jail guards who allegedly threw an illegal firecracker at inmates.

U.S. District Judge James Mahan on Wednesday denied the motion that argued that two Clark County Detention Center officers were acting independently and not as Metro officers when they threw what has been alleged to be an M-80 at five men who were inmates at the time.

"The defendant officers' actions were done for personal reasons and not in the furtherance of their duties as sworn officers," the motion states, arguing that claims in the case against the department and Sheriff Bill Young should be dropped.

Cal Potter, attorney for the five former inmates at the jail, said the incident was a "sadistic and willful action on the part of the officers" and alleged that a lieutenant didn't do anything about the incident. He added that Young was the ultimate authority at Metro and failed to discipline the officers harshly enough. He allowed them to keep their jobs.

The officers in question, Alan Hirjak and Christopher Brinkley, remain employed at the jail and were punished with suspensions without pay, Metro officials said.

Metro officials refused to release further details about the officers' punishments.

The lawsuit states that Eric Watson, Alex Owen, Fred Robinson, Stephen Basden and Michael Krivak were inmates at the jail in June 2003 when Hirjak and Brinkley exploded an M-80 near them. The suit says the plaintiffs suffered hearing loss, headaches, emotional distress and pain and suffering.

Each inmate is seeking punitive and compensatory damages in excess of $75,000 and attorneys fees. Lt. P.J. Leeke, Hirjak and Brinkley's supervisor, is also named as a defendant.

Mahan told Potter that he wasn't sure how the claim that Young was involved in a conspiracy with the two officers and Leeke would hold up, but granted Potter the latitude to look into it during ongoing discovery for the case.