WESTOVER, W.Va. — The attorney representing a man allegedly assaulted by Westover police officers is speaking about his client’s case.
William Cox, of Westover, was allegedly beaten by officers Aaron Dalton and Justice Carver in August 2019. A civil rights lawsuit alleges Cox was attacked at a Mountainline bus stop while recording the officers on his phone.
Dalton already faces one lawsuit related to accusations of his behavior; he and Officer Zachary Fecsko are accused of beating Andrew Howton on Jan. 1, 2019.
Travis Prince, Cox’s attorney, said his client told the officers he had a right to record them. The officers responded by deploying pepper spray before beating and kicking Cox. Police documents state Cox attacked the officers.
“The beating was so severe a bone in his face was fractured,” he told MetroNews affiliate WAJR-AM. “Ultimately, he was taken to the sheriff’s office where he was chained to the floor before he was eventually housed at the North Central Regional Jail for nearly 40 days.”
Prince requested access to body camera footage but has yet to receive the tape. He has footage captured from a nearby surveillance camera, yet it is unclear if police officers have the same footage. Video shows Cox standing next to the officers’ patrol vehicle when they got out and started beating Cox.
“It’s our position that the surveillance footage is inconsistent with the report of the police officers and is inconsistent with the allegations in this case,” he said. “We do not yet know the extent to which that surveillance footage was even shared with anyone.”
Prince said he is unaware of what happened to the cell phone video.
“We’ve obviously requested it be returned to William, and he has not received it,” Prince said. “We don’t know the status of the cell phone right now, but we will find out through discovery.”
Prince said he is also trying to understand why his client was chained to the floor as well as why it took more than a month for Cox to be released from jail.