A prison inmate is suing a federal corrections officer for depriving him of his constitutional rights during an incident in 2013.
Derrick Wilson filed a lawsuit July 21 in the U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas Beaumont Division against Captain Anthony Bobbit, citing violations of the Eighth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment.
According to the complaint, on May 20, 2013 at the medium security federal prison in Beaumont, Wilson was in line with other black inmates that were going to be escorted to the recreation yard when he was hit by a grenade thrown by Bobbit.
While there was a confrontation between black and Hispanic inmates prior to the grenade being thrown, the suit states that Bobbit threw it after the disturbance ended and thus acted with malice and gross negligence by using it out of anger or to retaliate against the inmates.
Moreover the filing says Wilson was an innocent bystander and not involved in the fight.
Bobbit is faulted with using unreasonable excessive force, failing to exercise ordinary care and using his weapons and equipment in an unreasonable manner.
Wilson claims as the result of being hit by the grenade he has become permanently blind in his right eye and will need an artificial eye.
Wilson seeks actual damages, punitive and exemplary damages, attorney fees, court costs, and other relief deemed appropriate by the court.
He is being represented by attorney Paul W. Gertz of The Gertz Law Firm in Beaumont.
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Texas Beaumont Division case number: 1:15-cv-00283-MAC.