In 2014, Officer Dutton was involved in the arrest of Mr. Gibbons for drug trafficking, despite the original arresting officers not finding methamphetamine or mentioning it in their report. Dutton signed a complaint stating Gibbons trafficked methamphetamine, leading to Gibbons’s arrest. In 2018, Dutton was again involved in bringing charges against Gibbons for trafficking hydrocodone, resulting in Gibbons’s indictment and arrest. The charges were dismissed in 2019 due to delays attributed to the State. Gibbons alleges Dutton had a personal vendetta and that the City of Rainsville failed to investigate Dutton’s background, which included previous terminations for widespread misconduct. Gibbons filed a § 1983 complaint in 2020, asserting false arrest, false imprisonment, abuse of process, and malicious prosecution. The court dismissed claims related to the 2014 arrest as time-barred but allowed claims regarding the 2018 arrest to proceed. ([law.justia.com](https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/alabama/alndce/5%3A2020cv02057/176002/36/?utm_source=openai))
[Return to blog post](https://watchaudits.com/steve-dutton-dekalb-county-sheriffs-office3/)
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