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$12,500 Settlement for DC Guard’s Assault of Prisoner During Shakedown

The District of Columbia (DC) paid $12,500 to settle a negligence and assault and battery suit filed by prisoner Cornell Barber for the injuries he sustained at the hands of guards.

As he was exiting the visiting park at the District of Columbia Correctional Facility at Lorton, Virginia, on February 23, 2001, Barber was required to submit to a shakedown. He had been previously undergoing treatment for hemorrhoids. After he had stripped and squatted to cough as part of the strip search, four guards used unnecessary and excessive force on him.

He was thrown to the ground, beat and stomped, handcuffed, and subjected to probing of his anal area in an attempt to find drugs or other contraband. The complaint made general claims of negligence for the excessive force and for assault and battery.

Barber accepted settlement on April 3, 2002. He was represented by Washington DC attorney Vincent Nappo. See: Barber v. District of Columbia, Superior Court, District of Columbia, Case No. 00-4174.

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Related legal case

Barber v. District of Columbia