Washington Sheriff's Office, deputy sued over Taser

PANAMA CITY — A new lawsuit against the Washington County Sheriff’s Office alleges a deputy used his stun gun as punishment on a suspected drunk driver, and it’s not the first time such allegations have been raised against the deputy.

Sgt. Jonathan Rackard is being sued for the fifth time since 2006 for improper or punitive use of force.

The newest suit, filed in U.S. District Court on Dec. 22, 2010, alleges Rackard used his stun gun to punish a suspected drunk driver for making a comment about Rackard’s wife, Rachel

Rackard, who is also a Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy and who arrested the suspect, Gary Hutto, on New Years Eve 2006.

WCSO spokesperson Andrea Gainey said the Sheriff's Office has not been served any papers on the lawsuit.

According to the suit, Jonathan Rackard became angry with Hutto after Rachel Rackard described Hutto as verbally aggressive. The suit says Rackard may have become angry with Hutto after the suspect told his wife she “looked good in her pants.”

Hutto was placed in the back seat of a squad car and the stun gun was used on him, where he was later discovered unresponsive. He spent the night in the hospital.

James Cook, the attorney representing Hutto, didn’t return a phone call seeking comment Wednesday.

In an earlier case, a 79-year-old man with health problems died in the Washington County Jail after Rackard lost patience with his repeated 911 calls.

A suit brought on behalf of Jacqueline Finn, representing James Rush’s estate, is tentatively scheduled for a federal trial in July. The suit alleges Rackard ignored “clear” indications of Rush’s medical conditions and warned him to stop calling 911. When the man again dialed 911, Rackard sent Deputy Frank Stone to arrest him and take him to jail instead of a hospital. Rush died of a heart attack less than 30 minutes after his arrival at the jail.

In 2004, Rackard used a stun gun on a man in handcuffs during an arrest for speeding, according to court documents. That suit was eventually dismissed. 

A suit filed in December 2008 alleged the WCSO battered, falsely imprisoned and maliciously prosecuted a woman who’d been involved in a car accident in 2006. The plaintiff in that case, Christian Powell, claimed Rackard deployed his stun gun into her chest after she had been rear-ended by another vehicle on Highway 77.

Powell was charged with resisting an officer without violence and reckless driving, but those charges were dropped.

A suit filed in May 2010 on behalf of Ralph Brown and his daughter April Brown Works claims Rackard and the sheriff’s office violated Brown Works’ Constitutional rights. According to that suit, deputies were called to Brown Works’ home on a report of a fight involving her son. When Brown Works asked Rackard what was happening, he responded angrily and threatened her with arrest.

Brown Works held out her wrists as if expecting to be cuffed, but instead Rackard and another deputy took her to the ground before she was cuffed. When Ralph Brown arrived and asked why force had been used to restrain his daughter, Rackard attempted to take him to the ground as well, but the attempt failed and Brown fell on top of Rackard. While Brown was on top of Rackard, Rackard ordered the other deputy to use a stun gun on Brown.

Brown and Brown Works were both charged and later acquitted in separate trials.