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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

W. Va. Cop Accused of Beating Suspect

(CN) - A policeman in Sophia, W. Va. used excessive force in arresting a local man on what he says were trumped up charges, the man claims in a lawsuit.

In a lawsuit filed in the Beckley, W. Va. Federal Court, Travis Lane Honaker says he was stopped by a patrolman identified as Z Issa, who "inflicted excessive corporal punishment" upon him while questioning his about an incident that had occurred earlier at the Honakerresidence.

Honaker doesn't describe that incident, but a public records search states the reason for his arrest was domestic violence and obstruction.

In his lawsuit, Honaker says he was placed under arrest and handcuffed before Issa struck him hard enough to knock him onto the ground.

Then, "[w]hile the Plaintiff, Travis Lane Honaker, remained on the ground handcuffed, Patrolman Z. Issa repeatedly kicked and stomped Plaintiff on, but not limited to, the head and body," the complaint says.

Honaker, who is six feet tall and weighs about 230 pounds, says the beating left him with abrasions, bruising, mental anguish, PTSD, and injuries to his ribs, head and legs.

Honaker claims that as a result of his arrest on domestic battery and obstruction charges, his girlfriend was able to steal several items from his home. The charges against Honaker were ultimately dismissed, the complaint says.

The plaintiff says he complained of his treatment to both the Town of Sophia and the Sophia Police Department, but that both have failed to discipline the officer.

He seeks compensatory and punitive damages on claims of tort of outrage, excessive battery, negligence, and reckless infliction of emotional distress.

Honaker is represented by Kyle Lusk of Lusk & Bradford in Beckley, W. Va.

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