Former county jail inmate has civil rights case settled

Nov. 06--A former Crawford County jail inmate who sued the county for alleged civil rights violations of excessive use of force by jail staff has settled his case for $50,000.

While county commissioners Thursday unanimously voted to approve a $50,000 settlement agreement with Gregory G. Brown, under the terms of the settlement Brown doesn't get any of the money directly and the county doesn't admit any liability.

Brown, a former county jail inmate sued Crawford County in 2012 in U.S. District Court in Erie over excessive use of force by jail staff in connection with the 2010 death of Gary Chapin, who was a guard at the county jail.

Under the settlement, the $50,000 first goes toward any child support payments Brown may have. Any remaining money then will be paid to Mary Janis Chapin, Gary Chapin's widow. Mrs. Chapin filed her own civil lawsuit against Brown in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas in 2012 for the death of her husband. In 2013, a county court ruling awarded Mary Chapin and the estate of Gary Chapin a $2 million settlement -- $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages -- against any future earnings by Brown including any federal civil rights cases.

Brown, now 29, was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in October 2011 in a criminal trial in Crawford County Court of Common Pleas for fatally injuring Chapin and was sentenced to serve 30 to 60 months in state prison, the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

At Brown's trial, the Crawford County District Attorney's Office argued that Brown threw Chapin violently to the floor while Chapin was trying to handcuff Brown. Brown's defense attorneys argued Brown and Chapin had their legs tangled up as Chapin attempted to handcuff Brown and the incident was accidental. Brown subsequently sued Crawford County in federal court for civil rights violations alleging corrections officers used excessive force in subduing Brown after the incident and denied Brown medical treatment for his alleged injuries from the guards.

The county will pay the $50,000 settlement out of its self-insured general liability fund, according to Mark Lessig, the county administrator.

Crawford County's general liability insurance was self-funded until October 2014, when the county switched its general liability insurance from self-funded to the Pennsylvania Counties Risk Pool, or PCoRP, an insurance program offered through the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Keith Gushard can be reached at 724-6370 or by email at [email protected].

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