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Immigrants File Lawsuit Against Butler County Jail

tramontelaDecember 8, 2020

BREAKING: Immigrants File Lawsuit Against Butler County Jail for Abuse in ICE Detention

Assaults, Racial Slurs, and Anti-Muslim Bias Endemic in Butler Jail

PUBLIC NOTICE: If you or someone you know was also assaulted at the Butler County Jail, please email admin@ohioimmigrant.org.

Hamilton, Ohio – Butler County Jail corrections officers have repeatedly threatened and attacked two African men held there for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), pushing one down a flight of stairs and beating him so badly that he lost a tooth. Terrified for their lives if forced to remain there, the men filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Attorneys John C. Camillus and Amy Norris are representing the men.  

“The abuse of Mr. Bayong and Mr. Adem at the hands of the Butler County corrections officers appears to be vile and inhumane. That would be true regardless of the victims, but the fact that the abuse seems to stem from the fact that these detainees are immigrants makes it even more horrifying,” said attorney John Camillus. “We look forward to proceeding in a court of law where, unlike what seems to be happening at the Butler County Jail, wrongdoers are held accountable.”

The lawsuit details corrections officers’ repeated acts of violence, slurs, and anti-Muslim bias against two men: Bayong Brown Bayong, a refugee from Cameroon, and Ahmed Adem, a refugee from Somalia who is Muslim. Both men are from Columbus and have family in Ohio. The lawsuit asks the court to grant damages and other remedies “the Court deems appropriate and just.” The men’s lawyers also plan to seek injunctive relief to protect the men’s safety.  

“I am scared in this facility,” said Mr. Adem. “It feels like they can do anything to you and no one will listen to your side of it. They will take you to a place where there are no cameras.”

Mr. Bayong and Mr. Adem have also been kept in isolation (“H-pod”) and subjected to freezing temperatures in their cell as part of the COs’ ongoing abuse. Mr. Bayong said: “I feel very scared for my life in this facility every day.”  

On Thursday, December 10, Intercommunity Justice and Peace Center, IJPC YES – Youth Educating Society, and people from across southwestern Ohio will gather outside the jail to show solidarity with Bayong, Adem, and other immigrants detained in this jail. The event will follow COVID-19 guidelines and a live stream will also be available. Follow here for information and updates.

Lawyers first learned of the abuse when they received a letter dated Sept. 16, 2020. The letter’s salutation reads: “To anyone who will listen to us.” It was signed by more than 50 men detained at the jail, which is located in Hamilton, Ohio, for ICE. Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones operates the jail and has tried to become a national figure with his anti-immigration rhetoric and outrageous policies, in the style of the now-dethroned Joe Arpaio. 

The September 16th letter details how a corrections officer (CO) pushed Bayong Brown as he was walking down the stairs and Bayong fell headfirst on the concrete. “Mr. Bayong Brown had been begging with the COs not to rush him as he was a confirmed COVID-19 patient and had excessive swelling on his feet which limited his mobility,” the letter states. “There are several witnesses to this brutal event.” Bayong told immigration attorneys that the CO said: “When you get down the stairs, I’m going to beat all the teeth from your mouth.”

A second letter states that on October 20th, COs Browning, Roberts, and Blankton beat both Bayong and Adem inside the cell shared by the two men. According to the complaint, the beating began after Brown requested medical help because he was not feeling well. The men were thrown to the ground, punched in the face, and kneeled on while they were on their stomachs. A CO also grabbed Adem’s prayer rug and almost stuffed it into a toilet before another CO intervened. (See photo of Adem’s bloody mask.)

The letter notes that “When Mr. Bayong Brown was brought in handcuffs and made to sit at the dayroom table, another CO grabbed his neck and turned it facing the door and smacked the back of his head and said, ‘I hope you die bitch.’ He also stated, ‘I can’t wait until you get to H-pod so I can beat your ass.’” In H-pod, CO Roberts proceeded to beat Mr. Bayong again, at which time he lost a tooth. (See photo of Bayong’s missing tooth.)

On October 28th, Attorney Zac Sanders met with Mr. Bayong in the jail. “He saw the lost tooth from the October 20th incident and the black eye that Mr. Bayong had sustained. Mr. Bayong still had a bandage on his neck and his neck was still swollen from the October 20, incident,” according to the complaint. As Sanders was leaving the jail, CO A. Roberts again assaulted Mr. Bayong and called him a “goat.”

Attorney Sanders of Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio is representing Mr. Bayong in his immigration case, and attorney Nazly Mamedova represents Ahmed Adem in his immigration case. 

This week, attorneys will ask the Court to release Mr. Bayong, pending his immigration hearing. (Mr. Adem has already been transferred to another facility.) They also want the jail to put Corrections Officers Roberts, Browning, and Blankton on administrative leave, pending a formal internal investigation into their abusive and illegal conduct. 

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