Action: Civil Rights Action Against Choctaw County Law Enforcement for Unreasonable Use of Force
Case: Booth, et al v. Ben Milner, et al [CIV 09-396-SPS]
Court: Eastern District of Oklahoma [Muskogee]
Result: Case settled for money damages and Choctaw County deputy convicted in federal court
Summary:
Choctaw County Sheriff Deputy Ben Milner and six other law enforcement officers stormed the Choctaw County Jail one night because inmates allegedly flooded a cell by stuffing a roll of toilet paper in the commode. Milner ordered all four plaintiffs face down on the floor of the flooded cell, entered with an axe handle and beat them on the back.
Haslam sued the officers, the county and various other governmental entities for violating the plaintiffs’ civil rights pursuant to 42 U.S.C.A. 1983. The case was settled for money damages.
After the settlement, Haslam worked with the FBI and prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to prosecute Milner criminally. Milner was convicted of several crimes by a jury in federal court and imprisoned.