Man suing police and sheriff is being prosecuted

Jeffrey Day says he spent five days in jail with fractured hip; prosecutors refiled an obstruction charge against him

Jeffrey Day, the local man suing Trotwood police and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office for not being treated for a fractured hip while spending five days in jail, is being prosecuted for obstruction of justice.

RELATED: Injured man spent five days in jail, lawsuit alleges

Day’s attorney had said charges in the Western Division of the Montgomery County Municipal Court system had been dismissed — which they were — but that they were refiled last month.

Attorney Michael Wright said Day had been severely injured and that he can’t understand why prosecutors picked the case back up.

“I think it’s pretty clear he didn’t obstruct official police business, that he was basically very shaken up as a result of this very serious accident and his very serious injuries,” Wright said Tuesday. “So for them to refile this complaint, I think it is in bad taste and poor judgment.”

Police reports indicate Day didn’t tell officers the truth about the car accident that caused his injuries; that Day denied being in the vehicle others said he was.

The federal civil rights and medical malpractice lawsuit filed in Dayton’s U.S. District Court alleges two Trotwood police officers and several jail personnel repeatedly ignored Day’s injuries. Day had emergency surgery after his release from jail.

Surveillance video from the Montgomery County Jail appears to show Day struggling to walk.

Wright has said that from the time of the Nov. 26, 2015, accident through his stay in the jail for a second-degree misdemeanor charge, Day was given only a Tylenol pill.

“I’m just a kind of a little surprised that they have filed this complaint even after seeing the video, seeing the condition he was in, seeing the accident,” Wright said. “I don’t know what additional evidence they would have to bring these charges.”

The defendants named include Trotwood police Sgt. Kim DeLong, Trotwood police officer Kevin Wagner, the city of Trotwood, Montgomery County Sheriff Phil Plummer, the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, EMT Jack Saunders, jail medical provider Naphcare Inc. and various Jane and John Does.

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