![Glenn Mayer and attorney Ashlie Sletvold [David C. Barnett / ideastream]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/cccc06e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3000x2250+0+0/resize/840x630!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fuploads%2F2019%2F10%2F15%2FSletvold%20and%20client.JPG)
A new lawsuit filed in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court this week alleges that a corrections officer attacked an inmate who was having a medical episode.
It's the lastest in a series of suits filed against the county over accusations of inmate abuse at the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Former inmate Glenn Mayer has a muscle condition that causes involuntary twitches. It landed him in the medical unit at the jail, where he says he was attacked by guard Darriell Hayes.
"Even though we've committed crimes, we're still human beings," Mayer said. "And the jail needs to treat us like human beings."
His lawsuit against the county alleges the guard used excessive force and was inadequately trained.
Mayer's attorney, Ashlie Sletvold, says her firm has filed three similar suits involving inmates, pointing to a environment of violence and intimidation at the jail.
"If you're not treating them like people, it becomes easier to abuse them," Sletvold said. "And that's a problem of culture. That's not a problem with any one individual corrections officer."
County spokesperson Mary Louise Madigan said Hayes resigned in August. She declined to comment on the suit, pending a review of the complaint by the county's lawyers.
