The Charleston Police Department is facing accusations of excessive use of force after a lawsuit was filed last week in Kanawha Circuit Court.
Two police officers, unidentified in the lawsuit, are accused of chasing two children, who are cousins, at gunpoint, tackling one to the ground and screaming expletives at them.
On Feb. 3, X'Zane Watts, 15, and his cousin, Fenix Watts, 2, were standing in an alley off Main Street with a toy Power Wheels vehicle and his German shepherd, X'Zane Watts said. Two officers, who were in an unmarked car, spotted the boys and exited their vehicle, with guns pointed at them, according to allegations in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges the officers didn't identify themselves, and began screaming profanities at the two juveniles. Watts said the men were wearing gray jackets
Watts said he was surprised, and didn't know what to do.
"My first intention was to run and get home to my mom," the teen said.
He said he grabbed Fenix and began running toward his home. He left behind the toy vehicle and the dog.
Watts then ran toward his home, carrying Fenix in his arms, the lawsuit continues. He eventually dropped his younger cousin, and was allegedly tripped by an officer onto a set of concrete steps outside his home.
The officers allegedly barged into the house, tackling Watts and holding a firearm to his head. The boy said he was struck in the head with the firearm during the takedown.
His mother, Charissa Watts, who also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit, heard a boom as she was in the kitchen. She ran into the living room to see her son held at gunpoint, she alleges. She said, at that moment, she didn't know what to do - her son had a gun to his head, and her nephew wasn't inside the house.
"I kept saying, 'What did he do?' What could he have done to have a gun to his head?" Charissa Watts said.
At that point, she didn't know who the officers were. She said they told her that her son should not have run.
Charleston attorney Michael Cary is representing the three plaintiffs in the lawsuit. He said Charissa Watts' first instinct was to call 911.
"But then she realized that's who was in her home," Cary said.
Soon after, the officers determined that they had mistakenly identified X'Zane Watts as the suspect in a crime, the lawsuit states.
X'Zane Watts said he has some nerve damage on the elbow he scraped when he was tripped. He can't lift weights without having tingling and pain, he said.
Charissa Watts said that, for weeks after the incident, her son wasn't himself - he'd act up in class and had constant nausea. She said he was afraid to take out the trash, because it was close to the alley. She said he'd talk back, and act out, for the first time in his life.
She said protecting her only child is her number one priority.
"He felt I was against him, too. Every little thing triggered him. He would just blurt things out and be rude to me," Charissa Watts said. "And I kept saying 'I'm on your side here.' "
In the lawsuit, Cary alleges that the officers targeted the juveniles because they are black. He said both officers are white.
"The Caucasian defendants racially profiled the plaintiff ... because he made the mistake of being an African-American living on the West Side," the lawsuit states.
Cary said he wants to make clear that he doesn't believe the Charleston Police Department has any systemic racial issues. He said he admires police officers for their work daily.
"We just really want to make sure that this doesn't happen again," Cary said.
The plaintiffs are seeking monetary compensation for injuries, mental pain and suffering, medical bills, lost wages and humiliation.
They also are seeking a court order that would require the officers to be disciplined and undergo additional training about the use of force. They also want the city to develop policies to prevent excessive and wrongful force.
"The Defendants' unprovoked and unjustified attack on [the] Plaintiffs was atrocious, intolerable and so extreme and outrageous that it exceeded the bounds of decency," the lawsuit states.
Charleston City Attorney Paul Ellis refuted the allegations made in the complaint. The city and its police department reached out to one of the plaintiffs and Cary on multiple occasions, trying to set up meetings and conversation, according to letters between the City Attorney's Office and Cary obtained through a public records request.
Ellis said Cary ignored them, alleging that the plaintiffs' attorney said it would take "never have to work again money" to resolve the issue.
In an email from May 31, Cary replied with only one word, "settle," to Ellis' response to a draft complaint of the lawsuit Cary sent him.
Ellis said the city will file its response in court within 30 days, and make no other comments until then.
Cary said Ellis' comment is refuting that statement, calling it a distraction.
"This case isn't about me. I wasn't held at gunpoint, and I wasn't tackled and hit over the head with a gun in my own home," Cary said. "I want this case to be about my clients - X'Zane, Fenix, and Charissa."
Reach Ali Schmitz at ali.schmitz@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @SchmitzMedia on Twitter.