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VIDEO: Testimony begins in trial for man who claims Whitley Deputy brutalized him
Posted On 01 Nov 2010
Click above to see video of the 911 related to this case and photos presented at trial.
Was Tony Ramey using his status as a volunteer Whitley County Sheriff’s deputy to break up a fight between his son, Perry, and Dalton Christopher Brewer or to provide added muscle as he pistol-whipped Brewer?
A federal jury began hearing testimony from several witnesses including Whitley County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Todd Shelley and Brewer’s former girlfriend Rachel Poole to determine whether Ramey, Whitley County Sheriff Lawrence Hodge and Whitley County should be held liable for the injuries Brewer sustained at Ramey’s hands and be required to compensate him for his medical bills, pain and suffering, lost wages and loss of his ability to generate income.
After spending almost five hours Monday selecting a 10-person jury in the case, attorneys made their opening statements.
Brewer’s attorney, Mike Cooper laid out his case, explaining that in June 2007 Perry Ramey sold a handgun to Brewer for $300. That handgun had, in fact, belonged to Tony Ramey. When Ramey learned the gun was missing, he confronted Perry Ramey. The two men went to Brewer’s home in Corbin to retrieve the gun.
Cooper and Jane Winkler Dyche, the attorney for Hodge and Whitley County, disagree on what happened next.
According to Cooper, who played the 911 tape from the incident, when Perry Ramey asked for the gun back, Brewer agreed but asked for the $300. At that point, Cooper said Tony Ramey became involved. Brewer’s then girlfriend, Rachel Poole is heard screaming and crying on the tape, yelling repeatedly that the gun is not stolen and that Brewer has a receipt for the sale, while Tony Ramey is heard saying he is a Whitley County Sheriff’s deputy and that Brewer is going to jail.
In her testimony Tuesday, Poole said Brewer was reluctant to purchase the gun as Perry Ramey told him the gun had been a gift from Tony Ramey. Brewer only agreed to buy the gun after he and Perry Ramey went to the Corbin Police to ensure it was not stolen.
Dyche said in her opening statement that Tony Ramey only became involved when Brewer and Perry Ramey began physically fighting and was screaming about being a deputy in an effort to stop the fight.
When the brawl ended, Cooper said Brewer was bloody but still in handcuffs and had a 1-inch gash in his head and a concussion. Brewer had reportedly been kicked, choked and beat with the butt of a handgun. He added that Brewer suffers seizures, has cognitive problems and has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Pool said Brewer went from a lively, active person to someone who was withdrawn and depressed.
As a result, the couple separated.
Cooper noted in his opening statement that when Corbin Police arrived on the scene, Tony Ramey identified himself as a deputy and told them that Brewer was under arrest before he and Perry Ramey left the scene.
Under cross examination Tuesday, Poole said it wasn’t Ramey who took Brewer into custody and placed him in handcuffs, but members of the Corbin Police Department who were dispatched to the scene in response to Poole’s call to 911.
However, upon further investigation by Corbin Police, no charges were filed against Brewer, who was then taken to Baptist Regional Medical Center.
The one witness called to the stand Monday was Shelley, who testified how Ramey became a volunteer deputy.
Shelley said that Tony Ramey had been a Corbin Police Officer and a Whitley County Sheriff’s deputy. While with the Corbin Police, Tony Ramey went through the police academy.
During a conversation in court one day, Shelley said Ramey asked him about becoming a volunteer deputy. Shelley added that he knew of Ramey’s background in law enforcement and recommended Ramey to Sheriff Hodge.
Judge Cathy Prewitt swore in Ramey as a volunteer deputy later that day.
Shelley emphasized that while volunteer deputies who have been bonded, carry a badge and a card, they do not have police powers unless accompanied by a regular deputy.
Upon questioning by Cooper, Shelley admitted there are no training guidelines, written rules or procedures for volunteer deputies.
In addition, he said force such as kicking, choking or beating a subject with a handgun is not among the practices taught during training at the police academy.
Testimony is expected to continue today.
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Oh what a tangled web we weave, will these foreign attornies against Sheriff Hodge and Ramey succeed in ruining their lives over a known and vile piece of human scum like DALTON C. BREWER and his SOLID PLATINUM former huge bottom girlfriend Rachel Pool. I can’t imagine Rachel giving me a table dance, I would have wanted my money back for the repulsive and flabs of fat bouncing in my face. I don’t like fat bottom chicks. I was told my name was brought up in court on Monday and one of the Louisville lawyers pronounced my name incorrectly. And to correct his misinformation about me:
I have lived in Corbin all of my life, and I am personal friends with Tony Ramey and his family. I don’t care who comes on here and talks trash about him. Brewer tried to kill his son and that’s cut and dry. I was also told that the Lawyers try every way they can to get the judge to rule that Brewer can’t be called a drug dealer. Are they nuts? They know good and well he is under indictment along with Rachel, 15 counts of drug offenses. Now he is Doctor shopping and his two Drug Doctors in Nashville plead guilty in Harlan for Criminal Conspiracy to traffic in narcotics. They paid 500K in fines and Doctor Vilvarajah had been convicted of killing his wife and mother in law back in 1985. But the lawyers quashed that as well. All of this information has been relayed to me by a reliable person not associated with the trial as a witness. I hope that the Jury sees through this BS and the lawyers and Brewer walk away with nothing. Anyone who takes 14 different types of medication and 4 of them are controlled substance they are going to be messed up. WAKE UP AMERICA, THE BREWERS OF THIS COUNTRY SUPPLY DRUGS TO OUR CHILDREN AND USE THE COURT SYSTEM TO PROFIT. I would be willing to bet as soon as this trial is over Brewer will throw his cane in the Lake as he gets on his jet ski or innertube. He was seen last summer several times running on the beach area of the lake and throwing a frisbee. But he had no cane and no limp! Wonder, Wonder, Wonder.