Second Use of Force Lawsuit against ACJ this summer highlights systemic culture of violence responsible for rampant constitutional violations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Connease Warren, Abolitionist Law Center, 713-304-8990, connease@alcenter.org

PITTSBURGH – Daronte Brown, a 21-year-old pretrial detainee incarcerated at the Allegheny County Jail (ACJ), has filed a lawsuit for two separate incidents when several correctional officers brutally assaulted him. One assault was so egregious that the Allegheny County Police and District Attorney’s Office pursued criminal charges against the corrections officer, who eventually  pleaded guilty to the least severe offense. An earlier assault against Mr. Brown did not result in any disciplinary action or criminal charges for the officers involved. Mr. Brown, who has well-documented psychiatric disabilities, suffered physical and psychological injuries from these assaults. Mr. Brown is represented by the Abolitionist Law Center (ALC) and O’Brien Coleman & Wright, LLC.

According to the Complaint, the first assault occurred in August 2023 while Mr. Brown was being denied medical care. Mr. Brown had just received his medications from the pantry on his housing pod. But before he could consume them, a nurse yelled at Mr. Brown and slapped his medications from his hand. Mr. Brown cried out in angst. When he did, a corrections officer, defendant McKinley, punched him in the face with a closed fist. Four other officers arrived and began relentlessly beating Mr. Brown, even though he was already kneeling with his hands behind his back. The Complaint states the officers lifted him off the ground and repeatedly slammed his face into the walls. They stomped on his head and continued to beat him. Although Mr. Brown was eventually transported to the medical housing unit, he was denied treatment. Mr. Brown was then placed in solitary confinement where he was denied basic human necessities, including adequate medical and psychiatric care, all while being forced to sleep on a cold concrete slab without a mattress for over a month.In addition to McKinley, the four unnamed officers are also defendants to this assault. 

“I’m filing this lawsuit because I want justice,” said Mr. Brown. “I want to have my day in court to bring transparency to the beatings by corrections officers at ACJ. They need to be held accountable for assaulting me and other incarcerated people without justification. And their supervisors need to be held accountable for failing to supervise and discipline them.” 

A year later in January 2024, Mr. Brown was viciously assaulted by corrections officers for a second time. Notably, the second assault occurred after several provisions of the Consent Order for the Howard v. Williams class action lawsuit went into effect, including provisions that impose rules, restrictions, and penalties against the County for punishing incarcerated persons with psychiatric disabilities at ACJ with solitary confinement or the use of excessive force.

During the second use of force incident, defendants Robert Veith and Christopher Radaci entered Mr. Brown’s cell, allegedly for a window check. Without provocation, Veith repeatedly punched Mr. Brown in the face while Radaci subjected him to electro-shocks with a taser. After Mr. Brown fell to the ground, they handcuffed him while Veith continued punching him. Following the assault, Mr. Brown was again denied medical care and placed into solitary confinement before being released after the review of surveillance footage showed that he was the victim of a criminal assault. In March 2024, Veith was criminally charged for assaulting Mr. Brown and fired.

Veith pled guilty only to a summary offense and was ordered to pay a $300 fine for his crimes. Conversely, Mr. Brown, the victim of the violent assault, was denied medical treatment and placed into solitary confinement for days, despite ACJ’s possession of surveillance footage that verified Veith’s role as the assailant. 

“This case highlights the terrible lack of equality in the criminal law system. Veith’s penalty for brutally assaulting a handcuffed African-American man with psychiatric disabilities was no more severe than a fine for a few parking tickets,” said Jaclyn Kurin, staff attorney at the Abolitionist Law Center. 

For years, ACJ’s per capita uses of force, weapons, solitary confinement, and deaths have outpaced all other jails in Pennsylvania. Mr. Brown’s lawsuit further exposes the rampant abuse of incarcerated people at ACJ, particularly those with psychiatric disabilities. Assaults against incarcerated people in need of care are commonplace in ACJ, as noted in multiple lawsuits and investigative reports. 

“Despite fearing further retaliation, Daronte Brown joins a growing list of individuals who have chosen to fight back against the Allegheny County Jail after experiencing significant physical and psychological abuse from jail employees,” said Tanisha Long, a community organizer at the Abolitionist Law Center. “While almost all of the people who harmed Daronte Brown continue to work at the ACJ, we hope that this lawsuit brings us one step closer to holding them accountable, discouraging these abuses in the future, and removing the rot that creates a toxic and unsafe environment at the jail.” 

Along with claims of excessive force, Mr. Brown is also bringing claims under the American with Disabilities Act. He is seeking compensatory relief, punitive damages, and a jury trial. 

The lawsuit, Brown v Veith, et. al,  2:25-cv-01275, was filed in the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania.The plaintiff is represented by Jaclyn Kurin, Dolly Prabhu, and Bret Grote of Abolitionist Law Center, and Alec Wright of O’Brien Coleman & Wright. 

Read the full complaint.

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