NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Nashville police officer who was seriously wounded when police said he was shot by an escaped inmate filed a lawsuit Friday against the company that runs the prison where the convicted robber was housed.
Sgt. Mark Chesnut was shot in the abdomen in June after he pulled over Joseph Jackson, the escaped convict, and Cortney Logan, of Louisville, Ky., who police said assisted in the escape.
Both have been indicted on attempted murder charges.
Chesnut’s attorney, David Raybin, said the lawsuit filed in Nashville alleges negligence on the part of Corrections Corporation of America in the escape of Jackson on June 25 during a doctor’s visit away from the Delta Correctional Facility.
Steven Owen, a spokesman for the Nashville-based prison operator, said that it has not yet been served with a lawsuit and would not comment.
Chesnut and his wife are asking for compensatory damages of up to $16.5 million.
The lawsuit reveals new details about the escape by Jackson, who was serving a life sentence at Greenwood, Miss., prison for two aggravated robberies and aggravated assault.
Jackson was told about his scheduled appointment with an eye doctor two weeks in advance by a nurse who worked at the prison, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit said Jackson had unrestricted access to a telephone that allowed him to plan the escape with Logan.
Raybin said CCA was responsible for the inmate and they failed to comply with standards of care in the correctional industry.
“You don’t tell an inmate or give the inmate certain information that he’s going to be at a certain location away from the prison a week or two advance because that gives him time to orchestrate an escape, which is precisely what he did,” Raybin said.
Jackson was taken to the appointment by two unarmed male guards and a female guard armed with a .38 caliber handgun that was later used in the officer’s shooting.
Police have said Logan, a convicted robber, entered the office and fired a shot into the air. The lawsuit claims the female guard first tried to reach to her cell phone and Jackson took her gun.
The two were driving on Interstate 40 near Nashville when Chesnut pulled them over for a routine traffic stop. As he was checking the tags on the rental car and Logan’s license, police said Jackson walked up and opened fire from the passenger side.
Chesnut was wearing a bullet-resistant vest but was wounded in the abdomen through a part of his body that was unprotected.
According to the lawsuit, Chesnut put the car in reverse and was able to call for help and give a description of the two men and their vehicle. The two were quickly arrested.
Chesnut was in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center after the shooting and placed on a ventilator. He has since returned home and is scheduled to return to light duty on Monday, Raybin said.
State News
Officer shot in inmate escape sues prison company
- State News
-
-
MHP on patrol for holiday
Even though there has been a remarkable reduction in the number of fatalities in Mississippi over the past seven years, last year’s Memorial Day Weekend was particularly deadly.
-
Forecasters: 9 to 15 storms this hurricane season
U.S. forecasters predicted Thursday that this year’s Atlantic hurricane season would produce a normal number of about nine to 15 tropical storms.
As many as four to eight of those storms could strengthen into hurricanes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s initial outlook for the six-month storm season that officially begins June 1. One to three of those could become major hurricanes with top winds of 111 mph or higher. -
Miss. court sets execution dates for 2 of 3 men
Mississippi will not execute three men on three consecutive days in June, after the state Supreme Court set execution dates a week apart for two men and declined to set a date for a third.
-
New, old law makers tout legislative successes
Four state law makers held a legislative review for members of the Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce at the newly opened Southern Char restaurant Tuesday night to share with business owners information about new bills and laws that have been passed.
-
Prosecutors: Delay sentencing in hate crime case
Federal prosecutors want to delay the sentencing of three white men who pleaded guilty to hate crime charges stemming from a months-long pattern of harassing blacks that culminated in the fatal rundown of James Craig Anderson.
-
Bryant signs laws affecting students and veterans
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed a bill Wednesday that requires kindergarteners or first-graders to be tested for dyslexia, a reading disorder that can sometimes go undiagnosed for years and leave children struggling to learn.
-
Losing bidder sues over revised bid at state port
A contract dispute has put on hold elevation work at the state port in Gulfport.
The port’s West Pier is being expanded, elevated and updated to house a modern containerized cargo operation. When completed, the pier will include 180 acres elevated for storm-surge protection by 15 feet, to 25 feet above sea level. -
Mom of man in sisters abduction gets new charge
Prosecutors have increased the severity of charges against the mother of a man who abducted two young Tennessee girls after he killed their mother and oldest sister.
-
Sheriff: Gang started prison riot in Mississippi
A gang fight in a prison for illegal immigrants quickly escalated into a riot involving as many as 300 inmates, some lashing out with sticks or homemade knives as the uprising spread through the sprawling prison, a sheriff said.
-
Miss. voter ID bill signed, awaits feds’ scrutiny
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant on Thursday signed a bill requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls, but it’s unclear whether it will become law.
- More State News Headlines
-
MHP on patrol for holiday
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
