Perry County Shooting Victims File Lawsuit

The victims of a law enforcement shooting incident have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against multiple Perry County Law Enforcement Agencies. The suit, filed in federal court in Columbus, says the incident happened on February 27th in Junction City and involved Dustin Dugan and Kenneth Helwig. They were sitting in a car when Perry County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Starrett and New Lexington Officer Sky Wilson shot at the car after blocking its movement. The suit says Dugan, who was unarmed, was suspected of a nonviolent property crime by possessing his girlfriend’s car. The suit says rather than simply speaking with Dugan and his passenger about the alleged crime, authorities boxed in his vehicle and shot at the men from the front and from the rear. The suit says Dugan was shot multiple times and severely injured. Helwig was not struck. Named in the lawsuit are: Perry County Sheriff William Barker, Deputy Starrett, Officer Wilson, the Village of New Lexington, Perry County Commissioners and the Central Ohio Drug Enforcement Task Force. The Ohio Attorney General’s Office has assigned a special prosecutor to the case and it is expected before a Perry County Grand Jury at a future date.