SALT LAKE CITY — Daggett County and its current and former sheriffs want a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by a group of inmates alleging abuses while incarcerated.
"All claims against all defendants are based solely upon the misconduct and illegal activity of a single former Deputy Sheriff, who was promptly terminated when his conduct was discovered by administrators," wrote Frank Mylar, an attorney for the county, in a motion to dismiss obtained by FOX 13 on Monday.
The ACLU of Utah sued on behalf of inmates who alleged that while incarcerated in the Daggett County Jail, they were subjected to dog attacks and were shocked with a TASER repeatedly. The jail shut down in 2017 after the accusations came to light.
The Utah Department of Corrections settled with the inmates. Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes leveled criminal charges against then-Sheriff Jerry Jorgensen and four deputies.
The only defendants left in the lawsuit are Daggett County, Sheriff Erik Bailey and Jorgensen.
"The law has been clear for over 40 years that governments and supervisors are not liable for the misconduct of their employees for constitutional violations. For this reason, all claims should be dismissed against the County Defendants," Mylar wrote.
Read the motion to dismiss here:
