Jerrod Palmer, a formerly incarcerated person with psychiatric disabilities, has filed a lawsuit against Allegheny County and several corrections officers, who repeatedly assaulted him while handcuffed at the Allegheny County Jail. Mr. Palmer was a mere two days from being released when the assault occurred. This case is the third excessive force lawsuit for ALC to file this year. The prior two cases, Wilkerson v. Sarver et al., No. 2:25-cv-00919, and Brown v. Veith et al., No. 2:25-cv-01275, similarly involved incarcerated people with psychiatric disabilities who were assaulted by corrections staff at the ACJ. 

On November 14, 2023, Mr. Palmer was assaulted three times while restrained with handcuffs. The first assault occurred on his housing pod. A second assault happened while he was escorted down the hallway and onto the elevator. The third assault occurred immediately after he was put on suicide watch by a medical professional. Instead of escorting Jerrod to the men’s acute mental health housing unit for suicide observation, officers took Jerrod to another housing pod where they proceeded to punch, kick, and tase him repeatedly. The tasing caused Mr. Palmer to defecate on himself, and he was denied the opportunity to clean himself. Officers then impermissibly stayed in the room while he was examined by healthcare professionals at the jail. Officers refused to remove the handcuffs that impeded his medical examination and he was denied medical care when the officers overrode the healthcare professional’s order to x-ray him. 

Prior to the assaults, Mr. Palmer had not received any misconduct reports. He was regarded as an exemplary incarcerated person and given a coveted kitchen worker position. Although his psychiatric disabilities, which include bipolar disorder and PTSD, were well-documented in his medical record; none of the defendant officers attempted to de-escalate or implement force avoidance techniques as required by ACJ’s use of force policy and corrections standards.

Mr. Palmer’s lawsuit is the third of three this year that 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. For years, ACJ’s per capita uses of force, weapons, solitary confinement, and deaths have outpaced all other jails in Pennsylvania. 

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

The lawsuit, Palmer v Sunday, et. al, 2:25-cv-01773, 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.