This resulted in his hospitalization for a collapsed lung, a severe eye and eye socket injury, fractured ribs and other injuries, according to his lawsuit against jail staff.
Mustafa’s attorneys — Anthony Pierson of Michael Wright’s law firm in Dayton — filed a personal injury lawsuit against Blake Creager, David Mead, Zach Limmer, Ryan Boman, Hayden Legenfeld, Thomas Naser, and Kevin Crisp in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court in December.
The lawsuit alleges that the actions of several Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office employees “was extreme and outrageous, as they negligently and recklessly, brutally and viciously beat Mustafa, knowing that he was no immediate threat, in violation of established police protocols.”
Injuries, video surveillance
The lawsuit states that on Jan. 5, 2025, Mustafa was waiting to receive his medications when Crisp, a corrections officer, alleged that Mustafa “stepped out of line.” Crisp took away a tablet that was located in Mustafa’s unit, advising the other inmates that he was taking it because of (Mustafa’s) actions.
Crisp closed the doors to the pod, and Mustafa reportedly banged on the door and window of the unit to get Crisp’s attention. Crisp then told corrections officer Limmer that Mustafa was “causing a disturbance,” asking Limmer to talk to Mustafa to calm him down. Limmer decided that Mustafa should be moved to another unit in the jail.
Limmer and corrections officers Mead, Boman, Naser, Legenfeld and Creager entered Mustafa’s pod and saw him on the phone. Limmer told him to get off the phone and pack his things.
Mustafa’s lawsuit says he moved to his bunk to collect his personal items and questioned why he was being moved. Mead and Naser then pulled Mustafa to his feet, the suit says.
The lawsuit states Mead “struck Mustafa, forcing him into the shower room out of the view of any cameras.” There are no direct cameras in the shower area of the jail, and the security footage this news outlet obtained of the confrontation does not directly show a clear view of what occurred.
The lawsuit states at least four officers pepper-sprayed him, threw him to the ground, struck him and kicked him.
When Mustafa was taken out of the dayroom by corrections officers, his face was swollen and covered in blood. Surveillance video shows nurses noting a laceration under his eye, and body-worn camera footage shows Mustafa voicing pain in his ribs and difficulty breathing. Mustafa was treated by jail medical staff and transported to a local hospital.
The lawsuit states that Mustafa has been readmitted to area hospitals several times to treat his injuries and PTSD.
Reaction
Mustafa’s complaint seeks compensatory, punitive and consequential damages to be determined by the court.
Mustafa’s injuries came to light last fall after community activist and blogger David Esrati published a video of the incident, which included an interview with Mustafa, on his blog. Esrati also shared multiple documents linked to Mustafa’s injuries at the jail.
The incident, along with the death of 25-year-old Christian Black, was at the center of a protest by Montgomery County Jail Coalition members in November.
“Not only does this lawsuit highlight the areas in which our county continues to treat its citizens inhumanely, it provides another example of county resources being used for settling lawsuits that would much better be used improving our community,” said Bobby Beebe, a member of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition. “We will continue working toward increasing transparency and accountability in the jail by advocating for civilian oversight.”
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office is not included as a defendant in Mustafa’s suit and did not immediately return a request for comment about it.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck in a statement to this news outlet in November said all use-of-force incidents that occur within the Montgomery County Jail are subject to internal review. The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office requested that the Warren County Sheriff’s Office conduct an independent investigation of the incident involving Mustafa.
The Warren County Sheriff’s Office last year determined no policy violations occurred during the incident.
“Corrections Officers utilized force in accordance with their training and within established policy to gain compliance. Once Mr. Mustafa was restrained and handcuffed, he was immediately assessed by jail medical staff and transported to a local hospital for treatment,” Streck previously said.
The Montgomery County Jail has been at the center of multiple high-profile civil lawsuits in recent years.
The Montgomery County commission last year approved a $7 million settlement with Black’s family. The family of Isaiah Trammell, a 19-year-old autistic man who died in Montgomery County Jail custody in 2023, also continues its civil case against Montgomery County and the jail medical provider, NaphCare Inc.
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