A crime scene investigator uses a tool at the scene of Jeremy S. Marr’s death on April 14, 2020. Marr died while in police custody at a home along Cleveland Avenue in Glasgow.
(BRENNAN CRAIN/WCLU NEWS)
GLASGOW, Ky. — Three Glasgow Police officers, the Glasgow Police Department and the City of Glasgow are named in a new lawsuit regarding the death of Jeremy S. Marr.
Marr, 35, died while in Glasgow Police’s custody April 14, 2020. Marr’s estate and widow, Joana Marr, are named as the plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed March 19 in the United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky.
“The amount of physical and force used upon Mr. Marr was a substantial factor in causing his death,” the suit said.
The lawsuit names Officers Guy J. Turcotte, Hayden Phillips and Cameron Murrell.
Kentucky State Police investigated Marr’s death. The Office of the Attorney General then received those investigative files last October.
Limited information was released after his death, and very little has since been discussed.
A video released by the Glasgow Electric Plant Board in June 2020 reveals Marr was running across Rogers Wells Boulevard before he entered the yard of a home along Cleveland Avenue in Glasgow.
“In less than approximately three minutes, Marr was tased eight to ten times directly onto the skin of his back, with the majority of the taser discharges occurring within two minutes,” according to court documents.
Marr told police initially someone was “trying to harm him and that ‘he didn’t want to die.’”
The lawsuit reasons Marr was not physical or reactive during his encounter with police.
The officer “took Marr to the ground, restraining Marr’s arms above his head and straddling him,” the suit claims.
Marr’s estate and widow assert the actions of those officers were due to inadequate training.
“On information and belief, the GPD’s training and policies fail to provide adequate training to officers in using a reasonable degree of force when a suspect is posing a threat to an officer, themselves, or someone else,” the suit said.
The estate and Joana seek “all legal and actual damages arising out of the death” of Jeremy.
The suit specifies those damages should include for wrongful death, loss of parental consortium, negligence, battery, negligent hiring and supervision, consequential damages, punitive damages and attorney’s fees and costs.
Glasgow Police is named due to its employment of the officers. The City of Glasgow is named as the liable party overseeing all of those units.
Harold Armstrong, Glasgow’s mayor, was named as the recipient of the lawsuit on behalf of the city and police department.
David Broderick of Broderick and Davis law firm in Bowling Green is named as the lead attorney.
