Linn County to pay informant beaten in jail $85,000 in lawsuit settlement

William Morris, Des Moines Register
·2 min read
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Linn County is paying $85,000 to settle claims from a man who was badly beaten at the county jail.

Ethan Palmer was detained by U.S. marshals in May 2022 to ensure he would testify at the federal trial of a suspected drug dealer, Justin Buehler. Although Palmer asked jail officials to keep him in protective custody, according to court filings, he was instead placed among the jail's general population, including Buehler's former cellmate, Johnny Church, who had been convicted of murder.

Within hours, surveillance video from the jail shows, Church and another inmate cornered Palmer in a common area and beat him savagely, leaving him with a broken knee, facial fractures, broken teeth and other injuries.

Palmer still testified against Buehler, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison in part for conspiring to have Palmer attacked, and both inmates involved in the attack were subsequently charged and convicted, as well.

Palmer sued Linn County, the jail, U.S. marshals and federal prosecutors, alleging they ignored his warnings that he was at risk and put him in serious danger. A judge later dismissed his claims against prosecutors, but allowed his remaining claims to continue.

Now Palmer has agreed to dismiss his suit, according to a court filing from Wednesday. An attorney for Linn County confirmed the settlement amount of $85,000 but otherwise had no comment.

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Palmer, through his wife Laurie, declined to comment. Her comment, via email, was brief: "This fixes nothing."

In addition to his Linn County suit, Palmer has a lawsuit pending against the Black Hawk County Jail, where he was transferred after his assault. Palmer, who was sentenced to probation for his own drug charges earlier this year, alleges that Black Hawk officials provided substandard medical care for his injuries.

William Morris covers courts for the Des Moines Register. He can be contacted at wrmorris2@registermedia.com, 715-573-8166 or on Twitter at @DMRMorris.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa drug informant beaten in jail gets $85K in lawsuit settlement