Kiowa County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeremy Rodriguez, in response to a federal civil rights lawsuit, denied he intentionally swerved his truck to run over Lionel Womack on Aug. 15. The deputy said he learned later that Womack did not possess a weapon.
Womack, a 35-year-old former police detective from Kansas City, Kansas, alleges in the lawsuit filed last month that he sustained serious injuries when Rodriguez intentionally drove over him.
Rodriguez generally denied the allegations and disputes the nature and extent of the damages. He also asserted he is entitled to qualified immunity from all claims in the lawsuit.
He acknowledged he was a part-time sheriff’s deputy with the Kiowa County Sheriffs Office at the time, but is now on administrative leave.