A former Roanoke City Jail inmate said in a federal lawsuit filed Monday that city sheriff's deputies beat him and broke his elbow.

The sheriff's office, Sheriff Octavia Johnson, Deputy Brandon Young and other, unnamed officers are listed as defendants in a lawsuit that asks for $6 million from each defendant. DaVon Anthony Bell, who was jailed for two days in the fall after being arrested on a larceny charge, said officers attacked him, then denied him treatment for his injuries.

Attorney John Fishwick, who is representing Bell, issued a statement saying the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Roanoke "raises important issues." The lawsuit claims an ongoing pattern of excessive force at the jail and says officers altered a videotape that recorded the altercation with Bell.

Sheriff's office spokeswoman Patricia Johnson wrote in an e-mail that "It would be inappropriate to comment at this time, as the Roanoke City Sheriff's Office has not been served" with the lawsuit.

Octavia Johnson is running on the Republican ticket for a second term in the fall. She faced criticism this spring for a live-fire training exercise in which city officers participated.

On Monday, Joe Bush, a state Department of Corrections probation deputy who is running for the Democratic nomination for sheriff, said that while he could not comment on the specifics of the lawsuit, it seemed to fit a pattern of poor management.

"For somebody to be in jail for two days and need medical attention -- that just goes against our whole Constitution," Bush said.

"I'm shocked but not shocked," he continued. "Over the last couple years, I've heard stories after stories."

Bush said he plans to hold a news conference at noon today to talk about the lawsuit.

Independent challenger Brian Keenum said it was too soon to weigh in on the lawsuit's allegations.

"Those lawsuits are fairly common ... and quite often, as well, not founded," said Keenum, a sheriff's office employee for 11 years in Roanoke and Roanoke County.

Frank Garrett, a Roanoke sheriff's deputy who also is seeking the Democratic nomination for sheriff, could not be contacted Monday.

In the lawsuit, Bell, a 20-year-old Roanoke resident, said he was arrested Sept. 14 and argued with deputies in the jail about the number of phone calls he was allowed. Bell was subdued, handcuffed and placed on his face on the floor, the lawsuit said, then beaten in the lower back by Young and other officers.

Later, Young and other officers came to Bell's cell and told him to put his hands behind his head. His left arm had been injured in the beating, the lawsuit said, and he could not comply with the officers' instructions. At that point, the officers forced Bell's arms up, breaking his left elbow, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said that despite complaints about pain, Bell was denied medical treatment while in jail. He was released Sept. 16 and the next day went to the Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital emergency room, where he was diagnosed with a fractured elbow, the lawsuit said. On Oct. 1, he had surgery to repair the fracture, in which a screw was inserted through his wrist for a bone graft to the elbow, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit said that the sheriff knew before the incident that officers regularly used excessive force in the jail, but did nothing about it. The lawsuit also referred to two versions of a videotape that shows officers interacting with Bell. In one version, Young's actions are clearly shown, the lawsuit said. In the second version, these actions "have been removed," the lawsuit said.

Fishwick said Bell's arrest stemmed from a grand larceny charge that was later reduced to petit larceny.

Online city court records show Bell was convicted of petit larceny in October and sentenced to 12 months' incarceration, with 10 months suspended.