Guards inside in the Walker County Jail, a north Alabama facility at the center of recent claims that an inmate died of hypothermia, were already facing a separate suit over allegations they assaulted a teenager five years ago, strapped him into a restraint chair and left him outside in only his underwear.

Jaden Gilbert argues in state court that he was beaten and strapped to a restraint chair and placed in the yard, exposed to the elements, in April of 2018, as punishment following an incident where he tried to stand up for another inmate. He sued in 2020.

Two guards, according to the complaint, “determined to maximize the terror and emotional distress to be experienced by Mr. Gilbert, a minor, carried him outside onto the ‘yard’ which was dark and exposed to the elements and left him unattended in the restraint chair.”

Attorneys for the jail and the guards tell a different story. They say Gilbert was aggressive and their use of force was necessary.

“Violent and aggressive behavior like this is not unusual for Gilbert,” reads the response on behalf of the jailers, who claim they acted in self-defense.

Attorneys for Gilbert ask the judge to order the county to implement policies to prevent guards from such behavior.

Attorneys for both sides did not comment for this story. Circuit Judge Doug Farris dismissed Walker County from the lawsuit in January. The attorneys for the guards told the court they plan to argue to dismiss the case, but right now both sides are still collecting evidence.

In Alabama and nationwide, restraint chairs have been involved in controversial court cases involving inmate deaths and injuries in recent years. There is no state data on the frequency of how often the chairs are used in jails or for what purposes.

This suit was filed two years before the Walker County Sheriff’s Office faced a prominent suit alleging the jail left a mentally ill man, Anthony Mitchell, in a frigid cell without water or access to medical care as he suffered from hypothermia, leading to his death. An initial complaint in that federal suit also alleged Mitchell was placed in a restraint chair. That claim about the chair has since been dropped from revised complaints.

According to Gilbert’s suit against the jail, another inmate’s toilet was overflowing and he called for help by pressing an intercom button. Officer Jason Mechalske responded and got into an argument with that man, Brandon Williams.

Mechalske then called his supervisor, Lt. Charles Hannah, and, according to the suit, the two officers forced Williams into a restraint chair. “Defendants Hannah and Mechalske assaulted Mr. Williams while he was bound and restrained in the chair and unable to defend himself in any manner,” the complaint alleges.

Gilbert’s attorneys argue that Gilbert was then punished for standing up for Williams. Gilbert’s attorneys say he watched the officers beat Williams, who was in a nearby cell and called out for help, according to the complaint. The officers reacted by punishing him, too, the complaint alleges.

Hannah and Mechalske have argued that they are immune from being sued as state agents.

“Correction officers have dangerous and violent jobs, but this Plaintiff and others believe that they should be at risk for injury or death by not ever allowing them to defend themselves,” reads a motion to dismiss from 2020.

In a footnote, the motion called Gilbert’s suit frivolous and stated that if the case goes to trial, the defendants will show that Gilbert became aggressive and threatened Lt. Hannah, forcing him to use his baton. They also say that when Mechalske came to help, Gilbert was aggressive, and the officers decided to put him in a restraint chair.

Gilbert was arrested for robbery with a deadly weapon in 2017 and 2018, according to court filings.

“Hannah got mad and told Gilbert to come out. He walked into Gilbert’s cell, unprovoked, and slapped him in the throat as Gilbert tried to exit the cell,” the complaint states.

The officer told Gilbert to walk toward the booking area and hit him with his baton as he was walking, the suit contends. Hannah then called a “code red,” without provocation and Officer Mechalske came running after them and tackled Gilbert to the ground where the officers then handcuffed Gilbert, then lifted him to his feet, and Mechalske, again tackled him to the ground where the officers assault him further. The complaint alleges the jail has received numerous complaints about excessive force and improper conduct by Officer Mechalske.

The officers then forced Gilbert into a restraint chair wearing only his underwear, the suit says, and placed him in the yard at night.

In a third lawsuit involving the Walker County Jail and a second involving a restraint chair, a former inmate, now deceased, sued the jail, serving as his own attorney, alleging he was denied mental health treatment, assaulted and left, sitting in his urine, in a restraint chair.

Joshua Clayton Little filed complaint pro se on March 30, 2020, “Nobody should be put through what I had to endure,” said Joshua Clayton Little, in his complaint against the jail, filed in federal court.

“I had some health and mental problems. I asked for help,” he argued, saying an officer then responded by assaulting him. “He put me in a restraint chair and left me. I had pee all over me. My eyes swolled shut. It’s all on camera.”

The Daily Mountain Eagle reports Joshua Clayton Little passed away on June 26, 2021, in Nashville at the age of 35. A spokesperson for Walker County Jail did not respond to requests for comment.