Former jailer accepts settlement offer in Vigo Co.lawsuit

Kim Hawkins, right, and attorney Michael Sutherlin/ ICN File Photo

A case filed by a former employee against the Vigo County Jail and several officials last summer has been settled.

Information on the settlement is limited at this time, but the plaintiff, Kim Hawkins, of Clinton, reportedly has been awarded $60,000 of the $150,00 originally requested after alleging wrongful termination and other wrongdoing by jail administration. Sheriff Greg Ewing had publicly denied the accusations at the time the accuser came forward.

This story will be updated as information becomes available. ICN has contacted Hawkins' lawyer, Michael Sutherlin for additional information.  Attorney for the county, Mike Wright, has also been asked for information. See reprinted story from July, as provided below. 
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--- ICN initial story on the case published July 29, 2015. Click link for ICN archives for additional information
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Former  Vigo County Jail officer seeks $150K after allegedly being forced out under new administration

Kim Hawkins, a former first sergeant at the Vigo County Jail, and his Indianapolis lawyer, Michael Sutherlin, have filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging disciplinary action by Sheriff Greg Ewing and other officials with the Vigo County Sheriff’s Office.

In a complaint filed today in U.S. District Court, the plaintiff is seeking damages and requests a trial by jury for being fired from his position without just cause after subsequently being demoted when a new jail administration took over, after former Sheriff Jon Marvel left office.

Hawkins believes he was forced out due to “his duties and responsibilities were viewed as being too friendly or lenient toward the inmates.”  He is seeking  $150,000 compensation for lost wages and emotional suffering he endured as a result of the actions.

Hawkins was hired as jail commander in 2007 and  worked in that capacity for a little more than three years. When Sheriff Ewing was elected, Hawkins reportedly was demoted to first sergeant.

In that position, Kim Hawkins was responsible for monitoring the administration of the jail, ensuring that the inmates were detained under Indiana State Jail Standards and United States Constitutional Standards, ensuring that inmate medical complaints were addressed, and ensuring any grievances inmates filed were properly and fairly considered and acted upon, according to court documents.

Hawkins alleges that inmate complaints were ignored and instances of brutality were not addressed and the officers responsible were seldom disciplined. One incident included  several inmates who were taken to a local hospital “because of the severe beatings or injuries they sustained from various jail officers.”

Specifically named in the lawsuit, including Ewing, are defendants John Moats ( former jail commander at time Hawkins was dismissed, who is now head of the Detective Division; Charles Funk (Jail commander after Hawkins was dismissed;) Patty Bauer (jail matron at time Hawkins was dismissed) and the government entity of Vigo County.

Hawklins was dismissed without forewarning or investigation by the administration, court documents state.

“Furthermore, when the plaintiff Kim Hawkins reported various instances of excessive force and abuse by jail officers, and requested that his superiors review the videotapes of these actions, he was rebuked or ignored,” court documents state. “The plaintiff’s rights under the First and 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution were violated, when he was terminated for bringing to the attention of his commanders and other public officials, incidences of excessive force and inmate abuse by jail officers.”
(July 29, 2015)
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