A Loudoun County inmate is suing the county’s sheriff’s office for $7 million after he said he was mistreated by guards and burned by scalding hot water.
The incident happened Feb. 4, when the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said Richard Piland, III, covered his window cell at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center with toothpaste, which made it difficult for deputies to see inside.
Body camera footage obtained from the sheriff’s office and shared with WTOP by Piland’s lawyers shows Piland refusing commands from deputies to put his hands through the slot in the cell door. At one point an officer uses pepper spray into the cell and Piland can be heard coughing.
“Mr. Piland refused to comply after given multiple verbal commands. Pepper spray was used,” Michele Bowman, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said in an emailed statement.
Once out of the cell, Piland appears to be placed in handcuffs and placed in a chair. He was then taken to a shower to be decontaminated.
In the shower, seconds after the water is turned on, Piland can be heard yelling “no, no, please.”
According to the lawsuit the water was so hot, Piland suffered first- and second-degree burns. The lawsuit claimed Piland was unable to move from the chair.
“That conduct was unlawful in that it constituted a completely unnecessary and excessive use of force upon Mr. Piland,” the lawsuit stated.
The sheriff’s office said the burns occurred because a mechanical issue with the shower allowed for the water’s temperature to exceed 110 degrees.
“Unknown to the deputies attempting to decontaminate the inmate, the mechanical system regulating the water temperature failed, which allowed the water temperature to exceed the 110-degree maximum,” Bowman said.
Bowman said the incident left burns on Piland’s upper arm and he received immediate medical attention. A malfunctioning mixing valve, which the sheriff’s office claims an internal investigation found was the “sole cause” of the injuries, was also fixed within hours, according to Bowman.
The lawsuit claims the deputy who took Piland into the shower showed an “absence of even scant care or prudence for the health and safety of Mr. Piland.”
In a Facebook Post, Piland’s mother Mindy Gunnels Beach called for a criminal investigation of the guards involved.
“They have a duty to protect the prisoners they patrol. Not only did they not do that, but this action seemed criminal,” Beach wrote.
She stated her son suffers from mental illness and has been incarcerated for almost two years. Online court records show he’s awaiting trial on a sexual assault charge.
