UPDATE: Lawsuit claims man with dementia was unlawfully arrested by Danville Police
DANVILLE, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — A new lawsuit has been filed against the City of Danville and the Danville Police Department following the arrest of 66-year-old John Hardwick in Walmart on October 15, 2024.
Hardwick’s family says he suffers from dementia.
According to the lawsuit, Hardwick and his wife Cindy Lou make weekly Walmart trips in Danville. The suit claims these trips help Hardwick maintain some level of independence while he battles dementia.
On October 15th, one routine trip turned into an arrest. Hardwick’s attorneys say the arrest has “completely altered and devastated his life.”
“Mr. Hardwick, who used to leave his house at least once a week and go to Walmart, has now not left his home for the past 45 to 90 days,” Attorney Ephraim Helton said.
The lawsuit is filed against the City of Danville, the Danville Police Department, five officers and Alex Hutti (Walmart Asset Protection employee). It’s asking for a trial by jury and undisclosed monetary damages.
Body camera footage and Walmart surveillance video show the arrest of Hardwick after he allegedly walked behind the customer service wall to grab the beer he previously had in his cart. Those boxes of beer were removed by a Walmart Asset Protection employee.
The lawsuit claims, an employee retrieved three Danville police officers: Sergeant Benjamin Ray, Officer Tony Godbey and Officer Brandon Conley.
A report filed by the officers says Officer Godbey along with Officer Conley and Sergeant Ray, assisted Hardwick to the ground.
The lawsuit claims these officers threw or slammed Hardwick to the ground without justification.
Throughout body camera footage, in police reports filed by the defendants and in a press release by Danville Police Chief Anthony Gray, they claim Hardwick was intoxicated.
The lawsuit states Hardwick was put in handcuffs and taken to the Boyle County Detention Center. The suit says they refused to admit him; the detention center corporal’s report was included in the lawsuit. The report says he did not smell alcohol on Hardwick and was suspicious that he might have dementia.
Officers then took him to the hospital according to the lawsuit.
Records show Hardwick faced several charges including alcohol intoxication and shoplifting. All charges were eventually dismissed.
ABC 36 reached out to the Danville Police Department and left a message. They have not returned our calls.
The City of Danville says they do not comment on pending litigation.
“At the end of the day, we need compensation for the Hardwicks, but more importantly we need to clean up what’s going on in this community,” Helton said.
