On Monday, the civil rights firm of Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, PLLC, of Durham filed a lawsuit seeking the public release of video camera footage from Mark Oakley, a former sergeant with the Warrenton Police Department.

The Town of Warrenton terminated Oakley’s employment last month. In January, District Attorney Michael Waters called on the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation to investigate complaints of improper use of force by Oakley. Court documents filed in the case indicated that a special agent with the SBI interviewed two complainants, one of whom provided video recordings of three incidents in which Oakley deployed his Taser.

Court documents also indicated that, based upon what was described in the interviews and shown in the video recordings, the SBI agent concluded that Oakley had used his Taser on unarmed subjects that were not actively resisting arrest, and when he did not appear to be in immediate danger of physical harm.

The lawsuit filed on Monday names Dwayne Hicks as the plaintiff in the case, and the Town of Warrenton, Warrenton Police Department and Warrenton Police Chief Goble Lane as defendants. The document specifically requests the release of “all law enforcement recordings” related to “Warrenton Police Officer Mark Oakley’s vehicle pursuit, seizure and tasing of plaintiff Dwayne Hicks” on Sept. 20, 2023.

The suit outlines allegations against Oakley through an account of that incident which accuses Oakley of tailing Hicks while he was driving home. According to the account, Hicks pulled over and parked on Warrenton’s Main Street after Oakley activated his blue lights. The account states that when Oakley approached the parked vehicle, he “asked if Mr. Hicks wanted to get arrested.”

The suit further accuses Oakley of removing the registration sticker from Hicks’ license plate and giving Hicks a citation for driving without insurance, impeding the flow of traffic and driving with no taillight, and states that “Mr. Hicks had valid insurance and a working taillight on his vehicle.”

The account states that Oakley drove down Bragg Street and parked at the corner of Bragg and Macon Streets, and Hicks drove to his home, one block from Bragg Street, adding that “As Mr. Hicks passed Officer Oakley, the officer shouted at him that he was driving without tags.”

The account further states that after Hicks parked at his home and was getting out of his car, “he realized that Officer Oakley had followed him to his home, had a gun drawn on him and was yelling at him to stay in the vehicle.” The account indicates that Oakley holstered his firearm when he approached Hicks. The suit accuses Oakley of tasing Hicks multiple times at that point, stating that “at no time did Mr. Hicks present any danger to Officer Oakley.”

According to the account, Hicks fell to the ground as he was being tased, Oakley handcuffed him and took him to the magistrate’s office, where Hicks was charged with failure to display a license plate tag and resisting an officer. The suit notes that in March, the Warren County district attorney dismissed all charges against Hicks.

According to the suit, the civil rights firm has learned of numerous incidents of alleged excessive force and false arrest involving Oakley that date back to 2020, and nine people have reported incidents involving Oakley and the use of a taser or mace, or involving false arrest. Information related to the suit notes that all the victims are black.

Representatives of Tin Fulton Walker & Owen, PLLC, Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., representatives of the Warren County Branch of the NAACP and a number of community residents were present at Monday night’s regular meeting of the Warrenton Town Board. Several local residents made remarks to the board during the public comments portion of the meeting. They included Herman Alston, who said that he has not received a response to the request he made at the board’s December meeting to be included on the January meeting agenda to discuss policing in Warreton. Alston, who said that he requested a response within 30 days, said that he would still like a response.

“I feel that by overlooking it, town administrators and the police chief are complicit,” he said.

Dr. Cosmos George, president of the Warren County NAACP, presented comments to the board in the form of a statement applauding the Town of Warrenton for terminating Oakley’s employment. However, he accused the town of failing to take “meaningful disciplinary action” against Oakley until the SBI began its investigation.

George’s remarks further stated the following: “We applaud the SBI and Warren County District Attorney for investigating these matters. We believe, however, that Warrenton government leaders should have taken steps long before the SBI and the Warren County DA opened their investigation to address abusive policing in Warrenton. Indeed, as early as 2021, the Warren County NAACP reviewed the use of force policy of the Police Department, found that DE-ESCALATION was not included in the policy, and recommended its inclusion.”

George also said that Warrenton leaders, including the police chief, mayor, town administrator and commissioners, were invited to participate in an Equity in Policing Forum sponsored by the Warren County NAACP in 2023, but did not attend the forum. George said that participation in this forum and the development of a de-escalation policy possibly could have prevented the problems, which the NAACP described as racial discrimination, which developed.

The NAACP recommended that Warrenton and the Warrenton Commissioners take the following action:

• Reinstate advisory boards and have them reflect the demographics of the town, and establish a citizens’ review board as part of its local law enforcement budget and plan for a safe community.

• Any enforcement offices within Warrenton found to have used excessive force improperly be immediately terminated from the department and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Any such police officer who has been disciplined, terminated or prosecuted for using brutality or excessive force “must be banned from working in Warrenton’s police force or denied employment that uses weapons.”

• All police officers be given random drug tests and thorough mental health and psychological fitness testing prior to being hired and at least annually after being hired with applicants or officers who fail such tests being denied employment with the Warrenton Police Department.

• Hiring and recruiting practices reflect Warrenton’s racial demographics and cultural diversity.

• An annual evaluation process, reviewed and endorsed by the Citizens’ Review Board, be established for all Warrenton employees.

• Supports the retirement of the current police chief of Warrenton. However, the NAACP accused the police chief of allowing excessive force and contributing to racial discrimination, stating that immediate resignation or termination would have been more appropriate.

• Publicly advocate that any Warrenton town leaders, employed or elected, who knew about the excessive use of fore and the racial discrimination over the past year or two, but did nothing to correct the situation, “should admit to their complicity and resign their position.”