GEORGETOWN — The list of plaintiffs accusing officers at Sussex Correctional Institution of violent abuse continues to grow, as 18 more plaintiffs filed complaints Thursday.

A second amended complaint filed in the federal District Court of Delaware outlines the pattern of “extreme, unprovoked and unnecessary acts of violence” by officers at the Department of Corrections’ Sussex Correctional facility. The second complaint marks the 39th plaintiff who has come forth with allegations of abuse from officers at the institution since December.

“This lawsuit aims to accomplish two major goals: to prove that there is an ongoing, horrific pattern and practice of abuse at Sussex Correctional Institution — and to make sure that abuse ends,” Dwayne J. Bensing, ACLU of Delaware legal director said. “The fact that we’re still receiving complaints, adding more plaintiffs, and naming more defendants, shows just how deep the roots of this issue run.”

In December, the ACLU of Delaware and Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLC filed a complaint in the state’s District Court on behalf of William Davis and Isaac Montague, each alleging violations of their constitutional rights stemming from their time at the facility. The original complaint outlined two attacks by officers at Sussex Correctional Institution, but on Feb. 16, the complaint was amended, expanding the number of plaintiffs to 21.

On Thursday, the second amended complaint filed by the ACLU and Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLC includes 18 additional plaintiffs who allege violent abuse at the hands of Sussex Correctional Institution officers. Additionally, the complaint includes concerns about retaliation against the plaintiffs regarding their participation in the case.

Of the 18 plaintiffs, the allegations of Kyle Bullock, Danny Harding Jr., Donald White, Kendall Smith, Bradley Zahner and Jimmie Moore were outlined in an ACLU of Delaware press release.

Bullock, who was at the facility on pretrial detention after protesting with the Black Lives Matter movement, alleges that he was subject to violent interrogation, as officers pepper sprayed him and punched him in the head.

Harding alleges that he was also pepper sprayed, and alleges that officers slammed him on the floor and, on one occasion, placed him in suicide watch after being accused of talking during dinner.

White alleges that despite not being positive for COVID-19, he was placed into the facility’s COVID-19 unit where officers sprayed him with pepper spray loaded into spray paint guns.

Smith alleges that Correctional Officers Aaron Bianca, Jared Payton and others strip-searched him while in solitary confinement and subsequently attacked him, unloading two cans of pepper spray on his bare body. The alleged attack is purported to have left permanent damage to Smith.

Zahner alleges that officers once pummeled him to the ground and split his head open during breakfast. He alleges that officers attacked and pepper sprayed him, causing him to defecate himself, and when the attack was over, officers placed him in solitary confinement and denied him a shower for two days.

Moore was placed in Sussex Correctional Institution despite being run over with a trailer by officers from the facility in 2021. While in the facility, Moore alleges that officers retaliated against him for the incident by cutting off his communication with his family, attacking and pepper spraying him, slamming him into a holding cell causing injuries to his head and neck, and allegedly telling him, “I hope you die in there.”

Daniel A. Griffith, Whiteford Taylor Preston, LLC partner and co-counsel on the case, pleaded for the officers to be held accountable for their actions.

“Since we filed this lawsuit in December, our plaintiffs have been subject to retaliation tactics, including excessive force, physical abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse and being deprived of basic amenities. We’re asking the court to hold the defendants accountable to that retaliation in addition to their accountability for the ongoing abuse alleged in the complaint.”