LR man files civil lawsuit against sheriff

A Little Rock doctor filed a civil-rights lawsuit Wednesday against the Pulaski County sheriff over the way he said he was treated by a deputy and a firefighter at his parents’ home in November.

Dr. J. Carlos Roman, 55, states that the deputy, Bruce Scott Jr., and Chris Gentry, a fireman from an unspecified department, manhandled him. The men are also defendants in the excessive-force suit before Pulaski County Circuit Judge Herb Wright.

According to the 10-page lawsuit, Roman was called to his parents’ home at 1000 Lake Roman Lane after his mother, 85-year-old Mary Frances Roman-Hamner, suffered a fatal fall from a horse.

Roman arrived to comfort his father and family.

He got out of his car in the driveway and rushed to his aunt and father but was intercepted by the deputy who began yelling at him.

Roman yelled back and the deputy grabbed him in a “bear hug” that inflicted rib and sternal bruising.

The deputy called for assistance and Gentry grabbed Roman’s shoulder, wrenching the joint so badly that the doctor thought it was broken. The shoulder was dislocated. A second deputy, whose identity is unknown, slammed Roman against the hood of a car, according to the suit.

Roman was not disorderly and did not resist arrest, but the defendants used excessive force on him and violated his civil rights, the suit states, which lists Roman’s wife, 56-year-old Christie Ann Roman as co-plaintiff. The Romans are being represented by Little Rock attorneys Luther Sutter, Lucien Gillham and Caleb Baumgardner.