Attorneys for the families of three teens victimized in an August 2023 assault involving a former Delaware State Police trooper announce a civil lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed in New Castle County Superior Court, names former Trooper Dempsey Walters and other officers involved as defendants, along with four police agencies, Delaware State Police, the New Castle County Police Department, the Elsmere Police Department and Newport Police Department.
The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages for the actions that left one victim with an orbital fracture, severe brain trauma and other injuries.
Attorneys Sam Davis and Chris Johnson, who is also a Wilmington City Councilman, are representing the families in this lawsuit. They say the victims weren’t gang members, but students penalized for playing a harmless prank.
Davis says Walters' actions are in question.
"We don't know whether he amplified it, whether he ramped it up, or whether he was reporting what his girlfriend told him happened. We suspect that he took this to the next level. In any event, it's the next step that is just confounding us. How could he call in helicopters, K-9 squad, long armed officers. It's, it's mind-boggling," said Davis.
Walters pleaded guilty in the criminal case against him, and was sentenced in October to one-year in prison followed by descending levels of probation.
Despite not being named in the lawsuit, the Delaware Department of Justice is also getting some heat from lawyers in the case.
The attorneys for the families filing the civil suit say DOJ and Attorney General Kathy Jennings have not followed through with a promise to share body-worn cameras and mobile video recorders.
Wilmington City Councilman Chris Johnson is one of the attorneys representing the families of the teenage victims in the assault case.
"They said once everything's concluded, we will get you body cam, and so they continue to reiterate, even as of the sentencing, when they spoke to the whole families all the families at the courthouse, we would get to see everything so we could make decisions on the closure. Still have not gotten it,” said Johnson. “To say it again, I understand the constraints in the law, but we need to change that law."
In a statement Delaware DOJ spokesman Mat Marshall said counsel’s comments are misdirected - that the fight is not with DOJ in this case.
He adds their job was to aggressively prosecute the defendant which they did successfully
Marshall says he doesn’t know what footage counsel is seeking, and only learned Wednesday about ongoing interest, adding that DOJ published all video evidence that prosecution used.
Marshall also points out that Johnson communicated an informal discovery request to the Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust and was directed to Delaware State Police.
