A portion of the federal lawsuit filed by a Cadiz woman against Trigg County Sheriff Aaron Acree and Jailer James Hughes has been dismissed with an amended action now filed with the court.
Crystal Smith filed the lawsuit late last year alleging assault, battery, negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
In the original lawsuit, Smith claimed Acree and Hughes violated Smith’s Fourth Amendment right to unreasonable seizure and excessive force; her Fifth Amendment right to due process; and her Eighth Amendment right to not being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment.
In addition, Acree was accused of civil battery and civil assault, and Acree and Hughes are accused of intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The amended complaint filed last week now claims Acree and Hughes violated Smith’s Fourth Amendment rights and her Eighth Amendment rights. The Fifth Amendment right to due process violation was dismissed by the court.
The amended complaint, which is allowed to be filed within 21 days of service of the original suit, continues to allege civil battery and civil assault against Acree and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Acree and Hughes.
An additional complaint of false imprisonment against Hughes is listed in the amendment.
Trigg County Fiscal Court remains named in the amended complaint — originally it was for negligence with the amended action now claiming they failed to create and enforce known policies and procedures in violation of federal and state law.
Acree was indicted on November 30 on single counts of fourth-degree assault and third-degree terroristic threatening and two counts of first-degree official misconduct. Each of the charges is a Class A misdemeanor.
Three of the four indictments occurred last January when Smith was arrested and charged with burglarizing Acree’s home.
According to the lawsuit, which represents just one side of the issue, Smith became addicted to pills and heroin in the weeks after the accidental death of her child in 2021. She said on the day of the burglary, she had no idea where she was or that she was in Acree’s home.
She was arrested by Cadiz Police and charged with second-degree burglary and possession of heroin and drug paraphernalia. Because Trigg County has no jail, she was to be transported to the Christian County Jail by Jailer Hughes.
The lawsuit said Smith was cuffed and shackled and placed into Hughes’ transport vehicle. Instead of going to the jail, Hughes said he had been instructed to go to the sheriff’s department on Acree’s instructions.
The suit said Hughes walked Smith to a side door of the sheriff’s department where Acree took her inside the building and into a supply closet where he proceeded to assault her.
Smith said Acree threatened to kill her during the assault and then shoved her out of the closet where she fell to the concrete floor while still in restraints.
Before leaving for Hopkinsville, Smith said Acree partially entered the back of the vehicle where Smith was and screamed that he would kill her if he ever saw her again. Smith claimed she believed Acree’s threats.
The suit said Smith is scared to go anywhere in Trigg County because she is afraid of running into Acree and that he will make good on his threat to kill her.
Smith is asking for a jury to award her compensatory damages for economic and other losses; physical pain and suffering, humiliation, embarrassment, personal indignity, apprehension about her future, emotional distress, and mental anguish.
She is also asking for punitive damages against the defendants.
Attorneys for Acree, Hughes, and Smith are expected to have a conference on February 21 to further discuss the civil case, from which there is no punishment of jail time.
Acree has denied the charges against him and will be arraigned on his misdemeanor charges next Thursday in Trigg District Court.
The Trigg County grand jury did not indict Hughes on criminal charges related to the investigation.
