A sergeant at the Allegheny County Jail whose record of alleged misconduct was the focus of a recent PublicSource investigation has been named in another lawsuit claiming physical, sexual and racially motivated abuse. 

The suit, filed today in federal court, names Sgt. Hunter Sarver as “the main perpetrator” of an alleged assault involving multiple correctional officers in July 2023. Sarver, the focus of PublicSource’s May investigation, was named alongside two other sergeants, seven correctional officers and three jail wardens.

The case was brought by Kush Wilkerson, a pre-trial detainee at the jail, who claims he was repeatedly tased by Sarver, including in his genital area when he was handcuffed and on the ground. 

“It’s something that will be with me for the rest of my life. I feel the effects of what happened to me both physically and mentally every day,” Wilkerson said, according to a press release from The Abolitionist Law Center, which is representing him. 

The press release also states that the assault, initiated by Sarver, was joined by 8 to 10 officers who “punched, kicked, and rammed Mr. Wilkerson’s head into the back of an elevator as they berated him with racial and sexual slurs. At least once, Mr. Wilkerson lost consciousness and several other incarcerated people yelled and threw coffee and water in an effort to try and stop the assault.” 

A PublicSource investigation found that Sarver has been named as a defendant in seven lawsuits since 2020 — many of which mirror similar allegations of physical and sexual assault. Sarver did not respond to multiple requests for comment before the investigation. A representative for the sergeants’ union did not respond to a call requesting comment today. 

Wilkerson has “well-documented” and diagnosed psychiatric disabilities, including ADHD, PTSD, paranoid schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and general anxiety disorder, qualifying him to file discrimination charges, according to the lawsuit. 

The lawsuit included Warden Orlando Harper, Deputy Warden David Zetwo and Deputy Chief of Operations Jason Beasom, as complacent in their failure to adequately train, supervise and discipline officers for previous incidents of similar conduct. 

Allegheny County declined to comment.

“In order to protect our most vulnerable community members, the Allegheny County Jail must make significant cultural and staffing changes in order to end the violence against incarcerated people,” said Tanisha Long, community organizer at the Abolitionist Law Center, in the press release.

Ember Duke, a Pittsburgh’s Public Source editorial intern, is a recent graduate of Duquesne University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns. She can be reached at ember@publicsource.org. 

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Jail sergeant in PublicSource investigation hit with new abuse allegations

by Ember Duke, Pittsburgh's Public Source
July 2, 2025

<h1>Jail sergeant in PublicSource investigation hit with new abuse allegations</h1> <p class="byline">by Ember Duke, Pittsburgh's Public Source <br />July 2, 2025</p> <p>A sergeant at the Allegheny County Jail whose record of alleged misconduct was the focus of a recent PublicSource investigation has been named in another lawsuit claiming physical, sexual and racially motivated abuse.&nbsp;</p> <p>The suit, filed today in federal court, names Sgt. Hunter Sarver as “the main perpetrator” of an alleged assault involving multiple correctional officers in July 2023. Sarver,<a href="https://www.publicsource.org/allegheny-county-jail-sergeant-lawsuits-allege-abuse/"> the focus of PublicSource’s May investigation</a>, was named alongside two other sergeants, seven correctional officers and three jail wardens.</p> <p>The case was brought by Kush Wilkerson, a pre-trial detainee at the jail, who claims he was repeatedly tased by Sarver, including in his genital area when he was handcuffed and on the ground.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It's something that will be with me for the rest of my life. I feel the effects of what happened to me both physically and mentally every day,” Wilkerson said, according to a press release from The Abolitionist Law Center, which is representing him.&nbsp;</p> <p>The press release also states that the assault, initiated by Sarver, was joined by 8 to 10 officers who “punched, kicked, and rammed Mr. Wilkerson’s head into the back of an elevator as they berated him with racial and sexual slurs. At least once, Mr. Wilkerson lost consciousness and several other incarcerated people yelled and threw coffee and water in an effort to try and stop the assault.”&nbsp;</p> <p>A PublicSource investigation found that Sarver has been named as a defendant in seven lawsuits since 2020 — many of which mirror similar allegations of physical and sexual assault. Sarver did not respond to multiple requests for comment before the investigation. A representative for the sergeants’ union did not respond to a call requesting comment today.&nbsp;</p> <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/20240520-ACJ-jail-medical-care-02.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-1320427" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Sun reflects off the front entrance to the Allegheny County Jail, Monday, May 13, 2024, in Pittsburgh’s Uptown. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)</figcaption></figure> <p>Wilkerson has “well-documented” and diagnosed psychiatric disabilities, including ADHD, PTSD, paranoid schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder and general anxiety disorder, qualifying him to file discrimination charges, according to the lawsuit.&nbsp;</p> <p>The lawsuit included Warden Orlando Harper, Deputy Warden David Zetwo and Deputy Chief of Operations Jason Beasom, as complacent in their failure to adequately train, supervise and discipline officers for previous incidents of similar conduct.&nbsp;</p> <p>Allegheny County declined to comment.</p> <p>“In order to protect our most vulnerable community members, the Allegheny County Jail must make significant cultural and staffing changes in order to end the violence against incarcerated people,” said Tanisha Long, community organizer at the Abolitionist Law Center, in the press release.</p> <p><em>Ember Duke, a Pittsburgh's Public Source editorial intern, is a recent graduate of Duquesne University and one of 10 Pittsburgh Media Partnership summer interns. She can be reached at </em><a href="mailto:ember@publicsource.org"><em>ember@publicsource.org</em></a><em>. </em></p></p> <p>This &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/new-lawsuit-alleges-repeat-abuses-at-allegheny-county-jail/&quot;&gt;article&lt;/a&gt; first appeared on &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org&quot;&gt;Pittsburgh&#039;s Public Source&lt;/a&gt; and is republished here under a &lt;a target=&quot;_blank&quot; href=&quot;https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/&quot;&gt;Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;img src=&quot;https://i0.wp.com/www.publicsource.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/cropped-ps_circle_favicon_blue.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;amp;ssl=1&quot; style=&quot;width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;&quot;&gt;</p> &lt;img id=&quot;republication-tracker-tool-source&quot; src=&quot;https://www.publicsource.org/?republication-pixel=true&amp;post=1320424&amp;amp;ga4=G-CCLXQK5C14&quot; style=&quot;width:1px;height:1px;&quot;&gt;&lt;script&gt; PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: &quot;https://www.publicsource.org/new-lawsuit-alleges-repeat-abuses-at-allegheny-county-jail/&quot;, urlref: window.location.href }); } } &lt;/script&gt; &lt;script id=&quot;parsely-cfg&quot; src=&quot;//cdn.parsely.com/keys/publicsource.org/p.js&quot;&gt;&lt;/script&gt;

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