A Macomb Corrections prison employee was awarded nearly $1.3 million by a Macomb County jury for his treatment by supervisors after he was injured trying to restrain a prisoner and tried to be kept away from the inmate.
The six-person jury unanimously determined the award for Darrin Rushing, 53, of Port Huron, for events over several years at the prison while employed by the Michigan Department of Corrections, following a three-week trial in front of circuit Edward Servitto. The jury deliberated nine to 10 hours over two days.
Rushing’s attorney, Jonathan Marko, said although they asked for $3.8 million, they are satisfied with the outcome because it reflects the wrongdoing by MDOC management.
“It shows the Department of Corrections violated the law, that what they did was illegal and it held them accountable,” Marko said.
He said his client is “relieved, happy and vindicated” by the verdict.
He said the allegations are part of a pattern of behavior by the MDOC. The department reportedly has been subject of several six-figure and seven-figure verdicts and settlements in recent years. Marko has sued the department about 25 times over the past 10 years mostly over its treatment of employees as well as some claims by prisoners. That included an $11.4 million verdict in 2019 for two Black employees who sued over discrimination and retaliation.
Marko referred to the department as the “Michigan department of corruption” and described officials’ behavior as “political angling...
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