Fearing charges, county attorneys want delay in pepper-spray lawsuit

Federal court documents confirm multiple investigations of Judith Sealey’s pepper spraying of Amber Swink.

Montgomery County attorneys have asked a federal judge to push back discovery in the Amber Swink pepper-spraying lawsuit because they would face an “impossible decision” between cooperating with either criminal or civil proceedings.

A motion filed in Dayton’s U.S. District Court indicates county attorneys fear Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Judith Sealey could face serious state and/or federal charges for pepper-spraying Swink Nov. 15, 2015 while she was strapped in a seven-point restraint chair at the Montgomery County Jail.

EARLIER: Dayton police investigating pepper spraying incident

“Since there currently is an ongoing federal investigation as well as a local investigation,” county attorneys Anne Jagielski and Joseph Saks wrote, “defendants are placed with an impossible decision: to invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination and waive their opportunity to defend themselves in the civil lawsuit or waive the Fifth Amendment privilege and potentially face criminal charges based on their own testimony.”

Neither U.S. District Court Judge Walter Rice nor Magistrate Judge Michael Newman have ruled on the defendants’ motion to stay just the discovery portion of the case, according to the docket.

EARLIER: Sheriff’s office sued over Amber Swink incident

The motion also shows Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer was subpoenaed to testify in a federal grand jury in Cincinnati in October 2016.

The document also confirmed that jail personnel are being investigated by U.S. Dept. of Justice’s civil rights division, the U.S. Attorneys’ Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dayton police department.

RELATED: Justice in the Jail project: 15 recent lawsuits against area jails

“Due to the secrecy of criminal investigations, the specifics of any of the pending investigations are unknown,” county attorneys wrote, citing Plummer’s discussions with government officials. “It is apparent they are investigating Judith Sealey and the Sheriff’s Office as a whole for pending criminal charges.”

Sealey was placed on administrative leave in October until the investigations were complete.

FOLLOW: Mark Gokavi on Twitter and Facebook

DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APPS FOR LATEST BREAKING NEWS

About the Author