Westmoreland County settles federal lawsuit alleging assault of inmate from New Kensington

A federal lawsuit filed by a former Westmoreland County Prison inmate who claimed he was beaten by a guard in 2018 has been settled.

The county commissioners this month approved a $27,500 settlement to end the case filed by DaRob Wright of New Kensington.

“It was completely unjustified,” attorney John Newborg said of the beating his client received Jan. 11, 2018, in the county jail in Hempfield.

According to court documents, Wright was jailed for an undisclosed reason, pushed up against a wall and repeatedly struck by a guard. Wright suffered a concussion, a torn rotator cuff, and injuries to his eyes and back during the incident, which was recorded.

Westmoreland County and former jail guard Jeffrey McCreary were named as defendants. In June, former Warden John Walton was removed from the case.

In a pretrial statement filed last summer by Newborg, Wright claimed he was pushed against the wall as he was being processed, then violently thrown to the ground and punched in the face. The incident was witnessed by two sheriff’s deputies, according to court records.

Warden Bryan Kline confirmed Wednesday that McCreary no longer works at the jail but declined to reveal the nature of his departure from the job.

McCreary last summer was named as one of eight additional defendants in federal lawsuit filed by another inmate who claimed he was assaulted by staff at the lockup last year.

In that case, James Mapp, 24, of New Mexico claimed he was beaten by guards after being taken into custody in March 2020 in a domestic incident in Penn Township. Mapp said he was beaten by guards after he refused to wear a mask in the facility.

Former corrections officer James B. Lynn, 39, of Ligonier Township was fired and charged in the assault against Mapp. In November 2020, he pleaded guilty to counts of official oppression and simple assault and was sentenced to serve two years on probation.