New Orleans’ troubled juvenile detention facility was the scene of a bloody beating in December that left a 16-year-old boy with a broken nose, a jail counselor under arrest and the city now facing a civil rights lawsuit.
Garland Duplessis, 51, was arrested Dec. 15, hours after police say he beat a 16-year-old boy incarcerated at the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center in Gentilly.
According to a police gist, Duplessis struck the boy repeatedly in his head and face with a radio and fist. Police booked Duplessis into the Orleans Parish Justice Center on a count of second-degree cruelty to juveniles. He was released on $10,000 bond, court records show.
Police say Duplessis escorted the teen to his living area at 11:22 a.m. on Dec. 15. According to NOPD Detective Tracy Raney, the altercation was captured on video footage that showed Duplessis “aggressively cursing the juvenile about not leaving the door open” before the alleged attack.
“I’m going to show you a b**ch,” Duplessis allegedly told the teen, according to the police account.
“Detective Raney observed in the footage Mr. Duplessis attacked the child inside the cell before the two moved out of view,” police wrote in the affidavit for Duplessis' arrest. “Mr. Duplessis was then observed a second time striking the child in the head and face area.”
The boy told police that Duplessis hit him with a handheld radio that Duplessis was seen holding as he left the cell. Duplessis declined to give a statement to police.
On Tuesday, attorneys for the victim’s mother, Angela Overton, filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages for the teen’s pain and suffering.
The complaint names Duplessis, Juvenile Justice Intervention Center brass and the city as defendants. It alleges the city hired an unqualified candidate in Duplessis due to low staffing.
Overton’s attorneys argue that Duplessis used excessive force and violated the rights of a teen with a history of mental illness. The lawsuit alleges negligence against the city, claiming it failed to act though Duplessis had exhibited “a lack of self-control, impulsive behavior, and/or proclivity towards violence.”
According to the lawsuit, Duplessis blamed the teen. Echoing the police report, the lawsuit says the teen walked away with multiple cuts to his head and face, as well as a broken nose. Afterward, “J.L.’s blood covered the entire unit,’ the lawsuit states.
Reached Thursday, Duplessis said he was unaware of the federal lawsuit. He did not comment further. Attorneys for Overton did not respond to questions.
