Tag: Dunbar

Federal Judge Grants Motion To Stay In Dunbar Police Brutality Lawsuit 

A federal judge has granted a stay in a case of alleged police misconduct.

U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of West Virginia Irene Berger’s decision Friday to grant the stay follows an Emergency Motion for Protective Order filed Jan. 27 by the city of Dunbar and two police officers named in a brutality lawsuit.

Last September, a lawsuit was filed against Dunbar police officers Zachary Winters and Adam Mason. The suit was filed by Michael Scott Sr. on behalf of his son, Michael Scott Jr.

The Kanawha County sheriff’s office is also investigating the incident.

The original complaint alleges the officers used excessive force against Scott Jr., slamming his head to the pavement and denied him medical care, causing his death two days later. 

On Jan. 27, the City of Dunbar filed a Motion to Stay after being requested to produce documents and evidence for a separate federal grand jury subpoena by Feb. 22. 

“Due to the ongoing investigation … defendants move the court for a stay and/or protective order of all discovery (in the civil matter) until the conclusion of the investigation,” the motion stated.

Judge Berger made the following statement in granting the motion:

“As a result, defendants Mason, Winter and Dunbar are aware that there is an ongoing investigation into the events of the incident alleged in plaintiff’s complaint,” the motion states. “Due to the ongoing investigation … defendants move the court for a stay and/or protective order of all discovery until the conclusion of the investigation.”

Judge Berger ordered all discovery be stayed until April 24.

The City of Dunbar and Officer Mason have been named in other excessive force complaints which are pending in federal court. 

The complaint states the Dunbar Police Department recently changed its use of force policy to allow “further escalation and to include striking of a subject’s head.”

December 5, 1916: Benjamin Gravely Receives Patent for Motor Plow

On December 5, 1916, Benjamin Franklin Gravely of South Charleston received a patent for his Gravely Motor Plow.

He had first started working on the invention five years earlier.  Gravely’s first crude attempt had combined a push plow, a tractor wheel, and a two-and-a-half-horsepower motorcycle engine. From this simple start, he kept adapting the plow until he perfected it.

In 1922, he founded the Gravely Motor Plow and Cultivator Company in Dunbar. His first plows sold for between $150 and $175.  They were so popular, he could sell a year’s worth in three months. As a result, he set up sales outlets in Florida and California and even in France, Germany, and Switzerland.

He eventually transformed his simple plow it into a five-horsepower walk-behind garden tractor. It was capable of plowing, mowing, and various other tasks.

In 1937, Gravely retired from day-to-day management of the company and sold out to his business partner D. Ray Hall. Then, in 1960, Hall sold the company to Studebaker for a reported $12.5 million.

The Dunbar factory continued cranking out Gravelys until 1968, when the operations were relocated to North Carolina.

More Cities Considering Ordinances to Limit Use of Fireworks

Municipalities in the Kanawha Valley are considering ordinances to limit the use of fireworks.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail reports that municipalities are following the lead of South Charleston, which passed an ordinance last week to limit the discharge of fireworks on certain holidays.

Hurricane Mayor Scott Edwards says the city of Hurricane is considering a similar ordinance. He says law enforcement officers would increase patrol around the holidays to enforce the potential ban. The ordinance would fine violators $100 to $500.

Nitro Mayor Dave Casebolt also says city officials are preparing an ordinance which would limit the use of fireworks on certain holidays.

Other places considering action on the issue include St. Albans, Charleston and Dunbar.

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