Lawsuit says NC town officials shielded officer after excessive Taser use
A federal lawsuit filed Monday accuses town of Warrenton officials of violating four people’s constitutional rights by not protecting them from an officer who they say improperly used excessive force.
The lawsuit centers on allegations against former Warrenton officer Mark Oakley and accuses him of firing his Taser on people without justification, complaints that The News & Observer has detailed since a State Bureau of Investigation probe was made public in early 2024.
“Officer Oakley’s actions were the inevitable outcome of his prior and longstanding pattern of unlawfully threatening, harassing, detaining, macing and using excessive force against Warrenton’s citizens — especially its Black citizens like all four plaintiffs,” states the lawsuit filed by attorneys Gagan Gupta and Abraham Rubert-Schewel.
Oakley was indicted on federal criminal charges in April that accuse him of misconduct. In the new lawsuit, four people accuse him of using excessive force, assault and battery, false arrest and malicious prosecution.
They also accuse the town and former police chief Goble Lane of failing to train and supervise Oakley and allowing his pattern of excessive force to continue.
A 2016 federal court decision advised that North Carolina officers should only use Tasers when confronted with an immediate danger.
“Plaintiffs’ injuries were avoidable. But Plaintiffs were injured nonetheless due to inaction by the Town and Chief Lane,” the lawsuit says.
Warrenton administrator Robert Davie wrote in an email that the town “takes these type of allegations very seriously” but said he couldn’t comment on the litigation.
Lawsuit alleges history of excessive force
The lawsuit alleges that Oakley has a history of using excessive force, dating back to 2015 when he worked for the Roanoke Rapids Police Department. The lawsuit states that Oakley slammed a handcuffed Halifax County detainee to the ground and used a Taser on him, even though he posed no threat.
As Roanoke Rapids police investigated and prepared to terminate Oakley, he resigned. The Roanoke Rapids police chief indicated on Oakley’s exit paperwork that Oakley was under investigation for using excessive force, the lawsuit says. He also reported the investigation to the North Carolina Department of Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards, which serves a commission that oversees the training and certification of officers across North Carolina.
Oakley went on to work as an officer for Littleton from February 2015 through February 2017, according to information provided by the former Littleton police chief. Warrenton hired Oakley as an officer in January 2018. The town administrator fired Oakley in March 2024, following an investigation.
In 2018, Oakley again began working part time for the town Littleton, where continued to be an officer there until he was indicted on federal charges in April.
In Warrenton, Oakley harassed people in the town, especially Black people, the lawsuit says.
Numerous community members complained about his misconduct, but Lane, the now retired police chief, refused to take action, the lawsuit states. Some of the reports included Oakley wrongly arresting a local elder for watching a traffic stop, Oakley striking a woman with a flashlight and shutting a car door on a passenger’s legs, and forcing a bar to close early.
The lawsuit contends that Lane asked one officer to alter a citation to make it appear that Oakley wasn’t at fault and retaliated against two other officers who had reported his misconduct.
The plantiffs in new lawsuit
The four plantiffs in the lawsuit outline three interactions with Oakley in 2022 and 2023.
On Oct. 30, 2022, Oakley arrested and placed Xavier Davis in a patrol car, and then used a Taser on his chest and leg, even though Davis wasn’t a threat. Oakley later used a Taser on a handcuffed Davis at the jail, the lawsuit states.
On Sept. 20, 2023 Oakley followed Dwayne Hicks home after a traffic stop and without justification used a Taser on Hicks twice in his driveway, the lawsuit states. Hicks, a longtime Warrenton resident, successfully forced the town of Warrenton to release body-camera footage of the encounter, which occurred after a traffic stop.
On Nov. 27, 2023, Shamayah Jones and Ishmill Smith were at a gas station and Smith was attempting to pump air into a car tire, when Oakley approached and handcuffed Smith. The officer placed Smith in his patrol car without justification, the lawsuit says. Oakley then tried to arrest Jones, using a Taser against her twice while she was in a car, the lawsuit states.
The federal indictment
The April 2 criminal indictment states that Oakley violated one person’s rights when he pushed Taser probes directly onto a handcuffed person’s chest and leg.
In a second instance, Oakley used a Taser on a man while he was standing still with one arm raised, and then a second time while he was lying on the ground and putting his hands behind his back, the indictment states.
In the third instance, Oakley used his Taser twice on a woman who did not pose a threat. Oakley used the Taser to get the person to get out of a car “when she wasn’t posing a threat” and a second time while she was on the ground, the indictment states.
The federal criminal case is ongoing, with Oakley recently hiring a new attorney, Joseph Zeszotarski Jr., to represent him. Zeszotarski did not immediatly respond to a phone message asking for a response to the lawsuit.
For more than two decades, police across the country have turned to Tasers in an effort to reduce the risk of injuries when arresting people they can’t control, The News & Observer reported in a 2024 investigation into Taser use in North Carolina.
However, North Carolina attorneys and other experts have said that updated training on the device is required to help officers understand manufacturers’ guidelines that warn of high-risk situations, as well as federal standards that set limits on Taser use.
In addition to the new lawsuit, two other federal lawsuits accuse Raleigh and Spruce Pine officials of using excessive force with a Taser.
Virginia Bridges covers criminal justice in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer. Her work is produced with financial support from the nonprofit The Just Trust. The N&O maintains full editorial control of its journalism.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 11:33 AM.
