Man violently arrested by Spokane County Sheriff’s deputy a year ago files federal lawsuit

From the moment Kevin Hinton was arrested on Aug. 14, 2023, he knew there was something wrong.

Spokane County Sheriff’s Sgt. Clay Hilton had hit him so many times Hinton was left with eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, concussion and disfigured lip, for what a later Spokane police investigation showed was at most a civil infraction – for being at a Spokane Valley park after dark.

That investigation found there was probable cause to charge the sergeant with assault, but the one-year anniversary of the violent arrest passed with no news from prosecutors.

“I think it’s just a complete indifference,” Hinton said of the lack of charges. “It makes me feel like I don’t deserve justice.”

Hinton, 63, filed a lawsuit in federal court Thursday, saying he wants justice and a change in culture at the sheriff’s office.

The arrest

Hinton was driving back from visiting his granddaughter when he pulled into the Terrace View Park parking lot for a rest before finishing the drive to his Colfax home.

“I was just gonna take a quick respite, throw my head back, watch the first part of a movie, probably fall asleep for an half hour or so, and finish my drive to Colfax, but that was a little bit interrupted,” Hinton said in an interview this week.

When the sergeant approached Hinton’s Audi, he wasn’t worried. He waived out of the sunroof of his car, his cockatoo Lily nested in the passenger seat.

“I didn’t really think much about it,” Hinton said.

Hilton told Hinton it was illegal for him to be in the park. Hinton said he would leave, but Hilton told him he needed to see his ID.

Hinton corrected the sergeant, according to body camera footage, saying it was a civil infraction not a crime to be in the park after dark. The lawsuit argues that it is not a crime to be in Terrace View Park at any time.

At this point, Hinton’s tone shifted, he said, because he was frustrated the sergeant couldn’t articulate what law he allegedly had broken.

The situation shifted quickly with the sergeant pulling Hinton out of the car and hitting him. Other officers arrived on scene not long after and Hinton quickly began saying the arrest was violent and unjustified.

“I was in disbelief. I was just taken aback by the entire incident,” Hinton said. “I obviously couldn’t breathe. I just couldn’t wrap my head around that fact that that all had just transpired.”

EMTs checked out Hinton and let a deputy transport him to the jail, where medical personnel refused to book him because of the severity of his injuries.

“Well, it was like finally someone had realized that I was severely injured,” Hinton said.

He was taken to the hospital where he remained handcuffed through a smattering of medical tests. Once the decision was made that Hinton would be admitted, the deputy decided to cite him rather than book him into jail.

Hinton had to call his brother, whose number he had memorized, to get family help.

He spent the next four months lying on his side, Hinton said. Among the eight broken ribs, were three that were separated from him sternum.

The sergeant’s conduct didn’t come to light until Hinton’s defense attorney for his criminal charge brought the body camera footage to prosecutors in October. By that point, the department’s use of force review had been completed. The sergeant’s superior found no issue with the arrest, according to documents.

Hilton was put on paid administrative leave. The Spokane Police Department was asked to investigate and in February found probable cause to charge Hilton with assault.

The Yakima County Prosecutor’s Office was asked to evaluate the case to avoid a conflict of interest. As of Thursday, it had not announced a charging decision. Elected Prosecutor Joe Brusic did not respond to questions about the status of the case.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office repeatedly declined to comment on the situation, citing the advice of legal council.

The lawsuit

Due in part to the delays in the case, Hinton felt he had to file a lawsuit against the sheriff’s office, Spokane County, City of Spokane Valley Police Department, American Medical Response Ambulance Service and others.

Hinton accuses them of excessive force, deliberate indifference, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligence and malicious prosecution, among other claims.

“No meaningful action has been taken by either the Spokane Valley Police Department or Spokane County Sheriff’s Department against Sgt. Hilton or to ensure this type of unlawful and unacceptable conduct does not occur in the future,” the complaint reads.

In the lawsuit, Joshua Maurer, Hinton’s attorney, argues that the sergeant had no legal right to detain or arrest Hinton and used excessive force in doing so.

The culture of the sheriff’s office allowed the violent arrest to go unchecked on scene and through the use of force review process, the complaint alleges. Sheriff’s office leaders should have known to be cautious when approving uses of force by Hilton, who had faced controversy in what an appellate court judge thought was a racially charged arrest from 2019, Maurer argued.

On scene, paramedics working for AMR should have known how severe Hinton’s injuries were based on his symptoms but instead medically cleared him to be taken to jail. The lawsuit argues the paramedics were influenced to clear Hinton for transport by the officers on scene.

The sergeant lived across the street from the park and took it upon himself to contact Hinton. The sergeant also didn’t have enough evidence to stop Hinton, the complaint argues.

“He was a vigilante,” Hinton said. “No one called, no one said, ‘Hey there’s a guy over by the park. He’s got a cockatoo with him, he might be a birdnapper.’ None of that.”

Maurer said in an interview that the lack of accountability for Hilton after a year hurts public trust in local law enforcement.

“I personally believe that here in Spokane County, we have some of the finest law enforcement officers in the world. I really believe that,” Maurer said. “When something like this happens, and when it appears as though everyone who has a position of authority doesn’t care and overlooks it or ignores it, it really has a negative impact on all law enforcement.”

Lasting impact

Hinton hasn’t returned to his Colfax home more than a year after the incident. He said he remains scared of retaliation from Hilton.

He sports a beard to cover his disfigured lip. When Hinton talks, he pauses to collect a raspy breath due to what he attributed to continued pain from his broken ribs.

“This man, to me, is still a threat,” Hinton said. “He has my address. I don’t want to put myself and or my children in harms way.”