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HUNTINGTON The city of Huntington recently issued a cease-and-desist order to a business on 4th Avenue.

The city said Pops Lounge, located at 1110 4th Ave., was advertised as an illegal bar. The Huntington Police Department became aware of the bar through social media posts.

A news release from the city said the lessee of the property had repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to get a business license to operate a bar on the property.

During the past 18 months, the City of Huntington has experienced several episodes wherein illegal bars have opened unexpectedly, and violent criminal activity has ensued, the release said.

In addition to issuing the cease-and-desist order, the release said the city will follow with that action with the securing of the necessary warrant or warrants to conduct a raid on the premises should an illegal bar open.

Tracy Phillips, the owner of Pops Lounge, said he applied for a city business license but it was ultimately denied. Phillips, a Black man, said he believes he was denied a license to open because of racism within the city. He said he tried to get a city license for about seven months, originally to put his second business, Spudz Potatoes, at 1110 4th Ave. and then later for Pops Lounge.

Phillips held private family events at Pops Lounge because he didnt want the place to stay empty, he said.

I do feel like there is a serious racism problem in this city as far as when Blacks try to open up businesses, Phillips said.

Phillips told The Herald-Dispatch he plans to seek legal action, but does not have a lawyer yet. He now plans to open Pops Lounge as a gourmet hot dog business and attempt to obtain a liquor license in the future for that restaurant.

If Mr. Phillips wants to make those allegations (of racism) in court, we will successfully defend ourselves, City Communications Director Bryan Chambers said.

Phillips moved Spudz Potatoes to a different location, 941 4th Ave. It is currently open for business. Chambers said Spudz Potatoes was issued a business license and certificate of occupancy last week.

City attorney Scott Damron said Friday that he has not heard personally from Phillips or anyone else with Pops Lounge. He said Phillips was denied a license for a bar because he is disqualified from obtaining a liquor license in West Virginia. Because of privacy, Damron said the city cannot disclose a disqualifying reason.

We informed him that if he was able to obtain (a West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration) license from the state of West Virginia, we would issue a business license to him for a bar, Damron said.

He added that it was the citys understanding that Phillips would not qualify in the future for an ABCA license, thus he would not be eligible for a city license to operate a bar.

Damron said the Huntington Police Department had not visited Pops Lounge while it was in operation. He said, upon information and belief, the lounge was in illegal operation once or a few times and HPD was made aware of operations after the fact.

Phillips said police visited Pops Lounge five or six times.

Damron said that if the city finds future attempts of illegal business operations in general, We will find out about it and shut it down.

The cease-and-desist order comes as two possible ordinances relating to illegal business operations have been discussed at Huntington City Council meetings.

At Mondays meeting, council voted to amend one of the ordinances, which relates to inspections after a business license has been issued. As amended, the ordinance says the director of the Division of Finance will notify the mayor or the mayors designee within a week of issuing a business license. Within a month, the mayor or the designee may inspect the business to determine whether the business is being conducted in a manner consistent with the licensing information and in a lawful manner. Periodic inspections would be allowed to follow.

Because the ordinance was amended in a 6-5 vote, it will have a second reading at the next City Council meeting April 26.

The council also discussed another ordinance Monday relating to adult game rooms. The ordinance provides definitions for what businesses are adult game rooms and requirements that they must meet in order to operate within the city, such as getting licenses from the city and the ABCA to serve alcohol. This ordinance will have a second reading at the next City Council meeting.

The American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia sent Damron a letter via email regarding the amendment Monday during the City Council meeting. According to a copy of the letter, the ACLU-WV had concerns with the proposed ordinance going against Fourth Amendment rights in the U.S. Constitution. The ordinance did not provide a mechanism for business owners to contest a government search.

It is not a legitimate government interest to blanketly permit warrantless searches of businesses, said the ACLU letter, which was signed by Legal Director Loree Stark. Law enforcement have a venue by which they may do that in a way that is constitutionally compliant: establishing cause sufficient to procure a warrant.

We dont agree with their reading of the ordinance, Damron said Friday.

He said the city did send a response to the ACLU. Stark did not return a request for comment Friday.

The ordinances are needed, Damron said, because they apply to an issue over the last 18 months. The city has previously said that some businesses have attempted to obtain a business license but operate illegally.

McKenna Horsley is a reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @mckennahorsley.

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City sends cease-and-desist order to downtown bar - Huntington Herald Dispatch

A man who was wrongfully arrested based on facial recognition technology is suing the City of Detroits police department.

The lawsuit has been filed by the University of Michigan Law Schools Civil Rights Litigation Initiative (CRLI) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of Robert Williams.

The lawsuit says Williams experience was the first case of wrongful arrest due to facial recognition technology to come to light in the United States.

The police department has blamed poor investigative work rather than the technology.

Detroit police arrested Williams at his home in January 2020 after examining security footage from a shoplifting incident which took place in 2018, when several expensive watches were allegedly stolen. Facial recognition technology was used on a grainy image from the video, and the system flagged Williams as a potential match based on an expired drivers licence photo.

The image was used in a picture line-up that was shown to a security guard. The guard, who hadnt actually witnessed the shoplifting incident and had only viewed the surveillance video, picked Williams out and the police department obtained an arrest warrant.

Williams, who had been driving home from work outside of Detroit when the shoplifting incident took place, spent 30 hours in a detention centre. The case was later dropped.

The lawsuit claims Williams Fourth Amendment rights were violated and that his arrest violated the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.

Williams is Black and the case reinforces concerns about the accuracy and potential bias in facial recognition systems, especially in instances where image quality and lighting are poor and the suspect is not looking at the camera.

A 2019 studyby the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) found that face recognition algorithms misidentified African-American and Asian faces up to 100 times more frequently than white faces.

Several US cities have now banned facial recognition technology in light of these concerns and others, including Portland which prohibited its use by private companies as well as internal departments. Many police agencies, though, still use face recognition systems.

We know that facial recognition technology threatens everyones privacy by turning everybody into a suspect, saidPhil Mayor, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Michigan.Weve repeatedly urged the Detroit Police Department to abandon its use of this dangerous technology, but it insists on using it anyhow.Justice requires that DPD and its officers be held accountable.

The lawsuit seeks undisclosed damages and policy changes on facial recognition technology.

Lawrence T. Garcia, City of Detroit Corporation Counsel, told Cities Today: As the police chief has explained, the arrest was the result of shoddy investigation not faulty technology. The arrest took place before the pandemic, and in the time since, the Detroit Police Department has conducted an internal investigation and has sustained misconduct charges relative to several members of the department. New protocols have been put in place by DPD to prevent similar issues from occurring.

The Law Department will seek to achieve resolution of Mr. Williams claims on terms that are fair to him and the City, he added.

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--White Oak ABL, LLC (White Oak), an affiliate of White Oak Global Advisors, LLC, announced it provided a second $10 million line increase and extension, bringing the total ABL Credit Facility to $95 million, to Hunt & Sons, Inc., a third-generation, family-owned diversified petroleum products distributor. This is the fourth amendment closed between the firms.

We are thrilled to partner with and fund the ongoing success of Hunt & Sons to support their acquisitions and provide them with the flexible working capital they need to achieve their business goals, said White Oak ABL Managing Director Clark D. Griffith. We believe their strong position in the marketplace and our scalable solutions will continue to generate positive outcomes.

Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Hunt & Sons specializes in commercial fleet fueling services, bulk fuel supply and comprehensive lubricant solutions for industrial, commercial and agricultural use.

White Oak is a hands-on partner whose reliable funding has helped our company make two key acquisitions during uncertain markets, said Joshua Hunt, CEO of Hunt & Sons. Their creative thinking and ready capital have enabled us to move our business forward with certainty and we look forward to our continued partnership.

About White Oak Global Advisors

White Oak Global Advisors, LLC is a leading global alternative asset manager specializing in originating and providing financing solutions to facilitate the growth, refinancing and recapitalization of small and medium enterprises. Since its inception in 2007, White Oak Global Advisors disciplined investment process focuses on delivering risk-adjusted investment returns and establishing long term partnerships with our borrowers. For more information, visit http://www.whiteoaksf.com.

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White Oak ABL Line Increase and Extension Reaches $95MM Credit Facility With Hunt & Sons, Inc. - Business Wire

This undated and unlocated handout image released by the Wisconsin Department of Justice on August 28, 2020, shows Kenosha Police Officer Rusten Sheskey, who opened fire on Jacob Blake during his attempted arrest on Aug. 23.(Photo: -, Getty Images)

The Kenosha police officer who shot Jacob Blake in the back in August, touching off days of violent protest in the city, has returned to regular duty and won't face any administrative discipline.

District Attorney Michael Graveley announced in Januarythat Rusten Sheskey would face no criminal charges in the Aug. 23 incident that left Blake paralyzed from the waist down.

On Tuesday, Chief Daniel Miskinis issued a press release on Twitter stating that Sheskey has also been cleared of breaking any internal policies, and has been back on duty aftermonths of administrative leave since March 31.

"Although this incident has been reviewed on multiplelevels, I know that some will not be pleased with the outcome," Miskinis wrote. "However, given the facts, the only lawful and appropriate decision was made."

Jacob Blake speaking from his hospital bed in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday.(Photo: Elliot Hughes / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

The news came the same day that a suburban Minneapolis police officer, Kim Potter, resigned after she fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop. Her boss, Brooklyn Center, Minn., Police Chief Tim Gannon, who had told reporters that Potter thought she was firing her Taser, not her gun, and referred to the shooting as an accident, also resigned Tuesday.

In the Kenosha incident, an investigation by the state Department of Justice found Blake was armed with a knife in the moments that led up to the shooting. Graveley said he could not disprove Sheskey's claim that he feared for his life when he fired seven shots at Blake.

On March 25, Blake filed a federal civil rights lawsuit for damages against Sheskey.

Blake claims Sheskey's use of deadly force was excessive, violated Blake's rights under the Fourth Amendment's protections against unreasonable seizure, and was done with "malice, willfulness, and reckless indifference" to Blake's rights.

One of Blake's attorneys, Patrick Salvi Jr., called Tuesday's revelation that Sheskey had returned to full duty without discipline very surprising.

"How can anyone say this is a desired result for a police encounter?" Salvi asked. He called it "a very sad state of affairs" if Kenosha police truly believe Sheskey acted in accordance with policy and training.

"But that's not true and we'll prove it in ourlawsuit," Salvi said.

Sheskey's attorneys in that case did not immediately return calls seeking comments.

Protest and violence quickly followed Blake's shooting, which was captured on video by a neighbor.Sheskey fired seven shots at Blake as he was trying to enter a car, after ignoring officers' orders to drop a knife.

The Kenosha County Courthouse area, as well as Uptown a few blocks away,was subjected to three nights of protesting marred by vandalism, arson and, on the third night, deadly shootings.

It was late on Aug. 25 when then 17-year-old Kyle Rittenhouse used the assault-style rifle he had been carrying all evening to kill Joseph Rosenbaum, 36, and Anthony Huber, 26, and wound Gaige Grosskreutz, 27.

Rittenhouse faces several felonies, has pleaded not guilty, and has been free on $2 million bail largely raised through social media among conservatives and gun rights advocates. His lawyers say he acted in self-defense. His trialis set for November.

ContactBruce Vielmetti at (414) 224-2187or bvielmetti@jrn.com. Followhim on Twitter at @ProofHearsay.

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A civil suit filed by a Waskom man against former Harrison County Sheriffs deputy Charles Chase Dotson and two bystander officers in connection with an aggravated assault by a public servant incident has been dismissed after reaching a settlement in the amount of $325,000.

Attorneys for all parties announced that a settlement had been reached, three days after a jury trial kicked off in the matter before U.S. Magistrate Judge Roy Payne.

We picked the jury on March 29. We tried the case for three days and the case was probably going to take about a week, but the morning of day-three all parties were able to find a resolution that everyone could live with, said Waskom-based attorney Josh B. Maness, who represents the reported victim, 64-year-old Charles Edward Collins, in the case.

Mr. Collins is glad this part is over and behind him, and hopes this never happens again, Maness told the News Messenger Tuesday.

This civil case shouldve been resolved a year-and-a-half ago because the evidence was so compelling, he added, but nonetheless were glad its behind us.

Federal law allows a citizen to sue a member of law enforcement when they reportedly violate the persons protective rights. Maness explained before that the lawsuit was all about accountability.

Law enforcement, like everybody else, is not above the law, he said previously.

Per the settlement agreement, the Texas Association of Counties, which provides liability insurance for county jails, will pay a total of $325,000 to resolve the claim against Dotson.

In the case, Collins, an oilfield consultant, alleged that then-Harrison County Sheriffs deputy Dotson unconstitutionally arrested him and used excessive force during the arrest and that Ryan Roop and Caleb Oden, who were among the other officers present at the scene, did not intervene and thus were liable under a theory of bystander liability.

The Waskom resident initially filed an official oppression complaint in November 2018 against Dotson and subsequently followed it up with the civil lawsuit in January 2019 to compensate for his pain and suffering. He later amended the complaint, suing the additional officers individually for allegedly acting as bystanders, watching a restrained Collins get brutally attacked by Dotson for no reasonable cause.

The bystander officers, Roop and Oden have now, however, been granted immunity through the settlement agreement.

Per court documents, Collins and defendants Roop and Oden, through their counsel, jointly filed an agreed take nothing judgment, relieving them from owing anything.

We agreed that they didnt do anything wrong, Maness said of the agreement concerning the bystander officers, Roop and Oden.

Maness thanked his co-counsel, Brendan Roth, for his assistance in the case.

I certainly appreciate his help, said Maness.

He noted that the civil case has not interfered with the criminal case thats currently pending against Dotson in the same matter.

In the criminal matter, Dotson was initially indicted May 2019 on a misdemeanor official oppression charge arising out of the same facts as the civil suit, filed by Collins. During a re-indictment in December 2019, the charges were then upgraded to a felony of aggravated assault by a public servant and a third-degree felony of tampering with physical evidence with intent to impair.

The criminal case against Dotson will still proceed, said Maness.

Regarding the civil suit, Maness said he had the chance to visit with jurors, following the dismissal of the civil case. After viewing the video of the incident, which was made public in 2019, all agreed there needed to be some accountability.

The video evidence has obviously been out for a while and I did speak with half the jurors before they left the courthouse and all of them agreed that what Dotson did was unreasonable and unjustified, Maness told the News Messenger.

According to the lawsuit, under no threat to himself, Dotson violated Collins Fourth and 15th amendment right to be free from excessive force. The lawsuit notes that the alleged misconduct occurred while Dotson was acting in his capacity as a law enforcement officer with the Harrison County Sheriffs Office.

The reported misconduct took place on Nov. 22, 2018, in the wee hours of Thanksgiving Day, after a complainant called authorities and asked for assistance at Collins residence that he shared with his fianc, near Waskom.

On or about November 22, 2018, Charles Collins was at his residence. Mr. Collins had become irritated and broke a rear sliding door and some small belongings in the residence, the lawsuit said.

Collins then went to sleep. Sometime after that, his girlfriends daughter arrived and became alarmed by the damage she saw to the living room area, the lawsuit said.

Unsure of what had occurred, she called law enforcement for assistance, the lawsuit states. She then made contact with her mother, Mr. Collins girlfriend, who told her that law enforcement assistance was not necessary.

Several deputies arrived to the scene. The lawsuit goes on to say that after getting Collins out of bed and interviewing him about what had occurred, Collins told deputies that he would stay at home and handle the damage the next day. Collins girlfriend, who talked with deputies separately, said she would stay with her daughter the remainder of the night and return to the residence the next morning.

The deputies stayed for well over an hour. At no point in time has there ever been any allegation of any type of domestic abuse between Mr. Collins and his girlfriend, the lawsuit said.

Despite that fact, the lawsuit claims that the defendant, Dotson, ultimately told Collins and his girlfriend that he was going to arrest Collins so Collins could sleep it off and that she could bond him out the next day and pay a small fine.

Mr. Collins girlfriend pressed one of the other deputies as to what the charges were and he was unable to answer her, the lawsuit states. Rather, he stated he would have to go ask Deputy Dotson.

The lawsuit goes on to say that Collins was cuffed behind his back and placed in to the back of Dotsons patrol vehicle.

Deputy Dotson drove at a high rate of speed, in excess of 100 mph, to the Harrison County jail annex, the lawsuit states.

It was at the jail annex where the alleged excessive force took place.

Upon arrival at the annex, the assisting deputies as well as a jailer were waiting for Collins arrival at the sally port with a wheelchair, the lawsuit states.

Cooperating with their commands, Collins exited the vehicle and sat in the awaiting wheelchair where his legs where strapped to the leg braces.

At this point, Deputy Dotson began to repeatedly and violently strike Mr. Collins about the face and upper body, the lawsuit said. This was done without any threat to the safety or welfare of any of the attending law enforcement personnel.

The lawsuit points out that this was all done with Collins legs strapped to the wheelchair but also with his hands still restrained by handcuffs behind his back.

Blood immediately began to pour down Mr. Collins face, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit goes on to say that once booked into the jail, Collins asked to be transported to the local hospital, as he feared he might succumb to his injuries especially considering the fact he was taking prescription blood thinners.

Finally, after repeated requests, jail staff transported him to Christus GSMC Marshall for evaluation, the lawsuit said.

After receiving medical attention at the hospital, Collins was then taken to the downtown jail facility inside of the Harrison County courthouse, where his girlfriend was able to bond him out the following morning after he pleaded not guilty to all charges during his arraignment, the lawsuit said.

About two weeks later, Deputy Dotson resigned his position from the department amid an investigation that was launched to look into whether Dotson had committed the crime of official oppression against the rights of Collins.

According to the lawsuit, Dotsons exercise of the established policies and customs of the Harrison County Sheriffs Office violated the plaintiffs clearly established constitutional rights, including the right to due process by law; freedom from unreasonable seizure of his person; freedom from the use of unreasonable, unnecessary, and excessive force; and the right to medical care without delay for injuries received while in custody.

Defendant Dotson willfully, deliberately, maliciously, or acted with reckless disregard for Plaintiffs constitutional rights, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit goes on to say that Dotson deprived Collins of his Fourth Amendment rights and those rights, privileges and immunities secured by the Fourth and Fifth Amendments to the Constitution incorporated and applied to the states through the 14th Amendment by the reasons stated before and by using excessive force in the course of attempted custody of the plaintiff.

Plaintiff therefore pleads he was unlawfully beaten and harmed, the lawsuit said. Such actions resulted directly and only from the use of force clearly excessive to the need, and the excessiveness of which was objectively reasonable.

In light of the fact Charles Collins was already restrained prior to being brutally beaten and not resisting arrest by defendant, it is initially absurd the defendant would deem force was warranted and/or required, the lawsuit said.

Furthermore, Mr. Collins was not armed with any kind of weapon, the lawsuit said. For these other reasons, it was objectively unreasonable for Charles Dotson to beat savagely and brutally assault Charles Collins on the occasion described.

The savage beating of a defenseless detainee restrained in handcuffs and confined to a wheelchair is never reasonable, the lawsuit said.

In the civil case, Collins asked for actual and compensatory damages as determined at a trial on the merits; mental anguish damages; punitive damages in an amount to punish and/or deter, and to make an example of the defendant, in order to prevent similar future conduct.

Dotson was represented by David Iglesias and Stephanie Ernst in the case. Robert Davis and Lee Correa represented Roop and Oden.

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Settlement reached in suit against former deputy charged with beating Waskom man; criminal case pending - Marshall News Messenger