Published: May 05, 2008 11:17 pm         

Suit filed against sheriff and deputies

A wrongful death lawsuit filed late Monday afternoon claims members of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department acted negligently when they shot and killed a Cabell Heights man who was firing a high-powered weapon in the early morning hours of July 4, 2006.

Filed by Charleston attorneys Michael A. Olivio and Travis A. Griffith on behalf of Mary Webb, the widow of Robert Webb, the suit lists defendants as the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, the Raleigh County Commission, Sheriff Danny Moore, then-Chief Deputy Steve Tanner, Deputy Greg S. Kade and Deputy John E. Hajash.

According to Register-Herald files and the complaint, Kade and Hajash were responding to a complaint that Robert A. Webb, 44, was playing loud music and shooting an AK-47 assault rifle outside his Cabell Heights home.

According to the lawsuit, Webb was discharging his firearm in celebration of his birthday and the Fourth of July holiday, but more than 30 minutes had elapsed between the firing of the weapon and the arrival of Kade and Hajash at the Webb residence.

The suit also claims “numerous residents within the neighborhood” were also firing weapons in celebration of the holiday and that Webb never fired his gun to threaten or endanger anyone.

The complaint claims Kade and Hajash parked away from the residence, out of sight, and approached on foot “while using cover to conceal their presence.” It also claims Kade took an assault shotgun from their patrol vehicle instead of his service standard handgun in spite of the fact the call was considered a “non-emergency nuisance call.”

When the deputies arrived on the scene at approximately 1 a.m., Webb was not shooting; still Kade and Hajash remained concealed by a row of trees until they witnessed Webb turn away from them, “at which time they ran toward Robert Webb in order to close the distance between them,” according to the complaint.

“Deputies Kade and Hajash proceeded up the street toward Mr. Webb and shot Mr. Webb while he was standing in the driveway of his home,” the complaint reads. “Deputies Kade and Hajash failed to identify themselves as law enforcement officers prior to firing their fatal shots at Mr. Webb.”

Webb was hit in the head and knocked to the ground by an initial shot from a shotgun, according to the complaint. While he was on the ground, one of the deputies shot him again with a handgun.

The complaint also claims emergency medical personnel were denied immediate access to Webb by members of the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department, who finished taking photographs before they allowed medical personnel to touch Webb.

“Robert Webb died as a direct and proximate result of being shot by Deputy Kade and Deputy Hajash,” the complaint reads.

The lawsuit claims the Sheriff’s Department and other agents of the Raleigh County Commission failed to conduct a “fair, reasonable, and unbiased investigation of the shooting of Robert Webb,” that the Sheriff’s Department, Moore, Tanner and other agents of the county commission “engaged in acts and words of extreme cruelty” toward Mary Webb, and that they offered no grief counseling to Webb or the couple’s children while the body lay on the driveway for hours.

The suit says Webb never attempted to shoot the deputies, as early statements from officers claimed. It also characterizes the investigation as “hasty and inadequate ... designed solely to absolve Deputies Kade and Hajash from any liability and to taint Robert Webb’s name in the public forum.”

The complaint seeks damages in an amount to be determined by a jury for sorrow, mental anguish and solace; compensation for reasonably expected loss of income and household services of Robert Webb, and reasonable funeral expenses.

It also claims a count of “suffering prior to death” and seeks damages in an amount to be determined by a jury.

A third count, “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” claims the defendants’ conduct was “atrocious, intolerable, and so extreme and outrageous as to exceed the bounds of decency,” that the defendants acted recklessly, and that their actions caused Mrs. Webb to suffer severe emotional distress. She seeks damages for the emotional distress she suffered as a result of such conduct.

The fourth count, “negligent hiring, training and supervision,” claims Moore, Tanner, the sheriff’s department and the county commission failed to properly interview, evaluate and screen the two deputies, train them properly, and failed to monitor and supervise them properly.

For those claims, the estate seeks damages for indignity, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, annoyance and inconvenience in an amount to be determined by the jury. That count also seeks punitive damages in an amount to be determined by the jury and attorney’s fees.

Other counts include negligence, tort of outrage, punitive damages, strict liability, civil conspiracy and spoliation of evidence. The complaint also includes a writ of mandamus, demanding the defendants be compelled to comply with adopted policies and procedures.

The complaint was filed Monday, just before the Raleigh County Circuit Clerk’s office closed at 4:30 p.m. Due to the lateness of the filing, The Register-Herald could not reach defendants named in the case. Messages were left at the sheriff’s office for Moore and Tanner, as well as with County Commission President Pat Reed.

— E-mail:

bnaudrey@register-herald.com