A $1 million settlement has been approved in a West Virginia wrongful death case filed by the estate of a Hagerstown man who died in the custody of West Virginia State Police in February 2023, according to one of the plaintiff's attorneys.
The lawsuit stemmed from the death of Edmond "Eddie" Exline, 44, of Hagerstown, who died Feb. 12, 2023, after a confrontation with state police along Interstate 81 about 2.5 miles north of Martinsburg's North Queen Street exit in Berkeley County.
The suit accused state police troopers of using excessive force with Exline, who was tackled by state police, handcuffed and had Tasers used on him, according to a report by the West Virginia Record.
Kanawha County Judge Kenneth Ballard approved the settlement this week, said John-Mark Atkinson with the Atkinson & Frampton law firm in Charleston, W. Va. Atkinson and Mark A. Atkinson represented Exline's estate in the lawsuit.
On Wednesday, Ballard granted the order and distribution of the settlement, John-Mark Atkinson said.
"We are pleased with the settlement," Atkinson said in a phone interview on Thursday. "The overall event is a tragedy that could have been avoided."
The plaintiff was able to get the full amount West Virginia State Police could pay in a case like this based on policy and state law, he said. The $1 million is the limit of the state's insurance policy.
A West Virgina State Police spokesperson did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment about the settlement.
The lawsuit was filed last year on behalf of Exline's estate, for whom his son, Edmond Exline II, is executor, Atkinson said.
Atkinson said his office was able to obtain body camera footage from the officers in regards to the incident.
West Virginia State Police denied a Freedom of Information Act request from The Herald-Mail that February that asked for any dash camera or body camera footage of the incident.
A state police paralegal denied the request in an email, under an exemption in state law dealing with investigation of crimes by law enforcement and the use of records for internal purposes.
What we know about the incident along I-81 that led to the lawsuit
State police initially said they responded to I-81 for a report of an intoxicated male walking on the interstate.
State police found Exline and a brief struggle occurred. Exline became unresponsive and troopers were unsuccessful in reviving him at the scene, police said.
Exline later died at the Berkeley Medical Center.
Exline's sister-in-law, Sarah Exline of Hagerstown, told The Herald-Mail last year that she found it hard to believe her brother-in-law had been drinking.
She said he suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and was afraid of consuming anything like alcohol for fear it would complicate his condition. She also said he was afraid the authorities were after him.
Sarah Exline said Eddie has had family ties to West Virginia in the past and believed that might be why he was in Berkeley County.
The West Virginia Record reported that a special prosecutor from another county took the case to a Berkeley County grand jury, seeking involuntary manslaughter indictments against three troopers in the matter. Jury members decided not to indict the officers.
Gov. Jim Justice, in March 2023, called for a sweeping investigation of state police after revealing various allegations of wrongdoing, including an unspecified "loss of life" on I-81 in Berkeley County. Justice said in a news briefing that he viewed video of the incident and added it is "very, very concerning."
It appeared he was commenting on the Exline incident.
A request for comment from The Herald-Mail to Justice's spokespeople on Thursday regarding the wrongful death settlement was not immediately returned.
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