Former Kentucky juvenile worker broke teen’s arm, slammed him into wall, indictment alleges

Bill Estep
·2 min read
14

A state juvenile-justice employee broke a 15-year-old boy’s arm and then slammed him into a wall, a federal grand jury has charged.

The grand jury indicted Nathaniel L. Lumpkins on Thursday.

Lumpkins faces one charge of violating the teen’s right under the U.S. Constitution to be free from unreasonable force, and one charge of filing a false report about the incident.

The incident reportedly happened in January 2019 at the Woodsbend Youth Development Center in West Liberty, where Lumpkins worked.

The facility was operated by the Kentucky Department of Juvenile Justice, according to the indictment.

Lumpkins was trying to restrain the 15-year-old when he used unreasonable force, causing injuries that included a broken arm, the indictment charges.

The next day, Lumpkins allegedly filed a false report about the incident in an effort to obstruct the investigation.

Lumpkins claimed that the juvenile had threatened to kill staff members and was physically aggressive as Lumpkins attempted to escort him and get him to calm down.

In reality, the teen had not threatened to kill staff members and had not been aggressive toward them, the indictment alleges.

In addition, Lumpkins failed to include in the report that he used an improper control technique on the teen and then slammed his broken arm into a wall, according to the indictment.

Lumpkins had been cited internally for allegedly using excessive force against residents at the center before the January 2019 incident.

Investigators with the state Justice and Public Safety Cabinet substantiated violations by Lumpkins the same month and the case was referred to law enforcement, said Morgan Hall, communication director for the cabinet.

The cabinet fired Lumpkins in February 2019 and cooperated in the federal investigation, Hall said.

The federal charge of using excessive force is punishable by up to 10 years in prison for a conviction, with a maximum 20-year sentence on the charge of making a false report.

Woodsbend is one of six youth development centers the department operates.

Teens who have had problems live and go to school at the facilities. Other programs at the centers deal with substance abuse, anger management, parenting and independent living, according to the department.