Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Bucks County Correctional Facility Alleging Excessive Force, Issues with Mental Health Treatment

Tony Di Domizio | North Penn Now•

Bucks County Correctional Facility.

In the wake of two deaths in the Bucks County prison system this year, and three suicides in 2022, a federal judge’s decision this month has cleared the way for a mental health-based civil rights lawsuit to move forward.

The lawsuit was filed by Mubarak Alexander, 29, against Bucks County, seven county correctional facility officers and supervisors, a prison nurse, and former warden, alleging excessive force was used against him during incarceration, according to Emily Rizzo of WHYY.

Alexander, who was arrested in 2018 for a misdemeanor charge and treated for schizoaffective disorder while imprisoned, alleges the county and correctional facility employees violated his civil rights while detained in the mental health unit at Bucks County Correctional Facility, per the report. Furthermore, he claims Bucks County fails to properly train correctional facility officers on how to handle prisoners with mental illnesses, per the report.

In a 26-page U.S. court filing, Alexander also claims he was strapped in a restraint chair and then allegedly assaulted with punches, kicks, elbows, and knees, while other officers cheered them on, according to the report. He also alleges the prison nurse refused to give him medical treatment, per the report.

According to the lawsuit, Alexander alleges mistreatment occurred with other prisoners with mental health illnesses who were on suicide watch.

Judge Karen Marston denied motions by the county and the officers to dismiss the claims on May 2, per the report. According to Alexander’s attorney, Amara Kravitz, the case will enter the discovery phase by early fall.

Kravitz is seeking videos of the alleged assault and information from the county regarding an investigation of the incident and punishment of officers for their alleged behavior. She claims in the article that the county does not train officers to appropriately de-escalate mental health situations.

“[People who have mental illnesses] have unique needs in the use of force context, and they deserve to interact with public officials who understand them and understand how to interact with them,” Kravitz said in the article.

Civil rights violation lawsuits are not unfamiliar to Bucks County and its prison system: The parents of 29-year-old Kimberly Stringer, of Yardley, sued 10 county prison employees and the county last year over alleged civil rights violations against their daughter, claiming guards pepper sprayed her while restrained.