Inmate sues Washington County jail over alleged assault
A former inmate at the Washington County jail is suing several staff members claiming he was assaulted by prison guards inside his cell and then left without medical attention for several days.
Erik Roux, 57, of Washington, filed the federal lawsuit Monday claiming the guards broke his femur during an incident inside his cell Feb. 13 and then left him in solitary confinement for three days with the injury.
The lawsuit claims the prison guards who came into his cell intentionally broke his leg during a scuffle while they were trying to remove him, and he later required hip replacement surgery.
The lawsuit names three jail guards who Roux claimed assaulted him, along with two workers employed by a private contractor to work in the jail’s medical unit.
Jail Warden Jeffrey Fewell said Monday he was aware of the situation and denied the staff did anything wrong.
“Our policy was followed,” Fewell said. “No policies were violated.”
According to online court documents, Roux was jailed on drug charges at the time, but was recently released on $100,000 bond.
The lawsuit is filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh and requests unspecified financial compensation. His Pittsburgh-based attorney, Alec Wright, could not be reached for comment Monday.