On September 24, 2009, the U. S. Deaprtment of Justice (”DOJ”) issued a Press Release announcing that a former Choctaw County, Oklahoma deputy sheriff was found guilty by a federal jury in Muskogee, Oklahoma of violating the civil rights of three men by assaulting them without legal justification.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/September/09-crt-1025.html .  According to the DOJ Press Release, in one incident, which took place in October of 2005, the former deputy sheriff physically abused a truck driver following a traffic stop, and, in a second incident, which occurred during October of 2007, the former deputy sheriff assaulted two inmates at the Choctaw County Jail.  As described in the Press Release, the former deputy sheriff was convicted on three counts of violating the civil rights of his victims and two counts of falsifying official reports.  The DOJ stated that he faces a maximum sentence of ten years in prison for each civil rights offense and 20 years for each obstruction offense.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King was quoted in the Press Release as saying that the DOJ will continue to prosecute vigorously law enforcement officers who violate the public trust.

In a Press Release at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/September/09-crt-938.html , the U. S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced that a former deputy with the Shelby County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office has been sentenced by a federal court in Memphis to 18 months in prison and two years of supervised release for using excessive force during an encounter with a citizen.  According to the September 8, 2009 DOJ Press Release, the former deputy pleaded guilty on April 9, 2009 to unnecessarily striking the head of a man he encountered outside a residence in Cordova, Tennessee while conducting an investigation in March or April of 2006.  As stated in the Press Release, the former deputy acknowledged that he abused his authority as a law enforcement officer and agreed that his conduct violated federal law and the constitutional rights of the man he struck.  A U.S. attorney was quoted in the Press Release saying that “The sentence should serve as a reminder and message to those law enforcement officers who violate the protections of the Fourth Amendment that their actions are unnacceptable, they will be prosecuted and they will serve time.”  The excessive force case was investigated by a multiagency task force led by the FBI and staffed with investigators from a Memphis Field Office, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and the Memphis Police Department.  Acting Assistant Attorney General Loretta King stated in the Press Release that “The Civil Rights Division will continue to investigate and prosecute rogue police officers who abuse the rights of those they are sworn to protect and serve.”

In a July 22, 2009 Press Release, the United States Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced that a police officer in the East St. Louis, Illinois Police Department was charged in a two count federal indictment stemming from a January 2006 incident in which the officer allegedly punched a handcuffed arrestee in the mouth.  See, DOJ Press Releases, 7/22/09, www.usdoj.gov .  According to the DOJ Press Release, the indictment charges the police officer with a felony civil rights violation and with making alse statements to the FBI.  In this regard, the indictment alleges that on January 30, 2006 the police officer assaulted an arrestee by punching him in the mouth while he was handcuffed at the East St. Louis Police Department station.  As stated in the Press Release, an indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison on the civil rights charge and five years on the false statement charge.

The United States Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced in a July 29, 2009 Press Release that a federal jury in Orlando, Florida found a Bureau of Prisons corrections officer guilty on felony federal civil rights charges related to a fatal assault on an inmate in March 2005.  According to the DOJ Press Release, the corrections officer was convicted on two charges, one count of conspiring to violate the federal civil rights of an inmate and a second count of violating the inmate’s civil rights by arranging for another inmate to conduct an assault on the inmate.  Each count carries a sentence of up to life imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine.  See, DOJ Press Releases, July 29, 2009, www.usdoj.gov .

In a June 22, 2009 U.S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) Press Release, the DOJ announced that a two-count federal grand jury indictment returned against a Spokane, Washington police officer has been unsealed.  According to the DOJ Press Release, the indictment charges the police officer with the deprivation of a victim’s civil rights on March 18, 2006 by repeatedly striking him with a baton and tasering him, resulting in bodily injury.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-613.html .  The indictment also charges the police officer with making a false entry in a record in a matter investigated by a federal agency.  As stated in the Press Release, the civil rights charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, up to three years of court supervision after release and restitution.  The falsification of records in a matter investigated by a federal agency carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of court supervision after release.  However, an indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. 

Whether alleged civil rights violations by law enforcement occur in Baytown, Freeport, Port Lavaca or elsewhere, victims of police misconduct or abuse may contact the DOJ and an attorney or lawyer to determine if criminal charges and a civil rights lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular circumstances and facts of the potential police brutality claim.

Attorneys for an Austin family have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against an Austin police officer and the City of Austin, alleging that racial discrimination and excessive force lead to a May 11 shooting in which a sleeping 18 year-old African-American youth was reportedly taken from a car and fatally shot.  See, Plohetski, Tony, “Sanders Family Sues Over Fatal Police Shooting,” Austin American-Statesman, 6/3/09, http://www.statesman.com .  According to the article, police have said that the officer had been investigating whether a Mercedes-Benz station wagon in which the youth was sleeping was linked to gunfire at an East Austin apartment complex when the officer fired after the youth allegedly reached for a weapon.  However, the civil rights lawsuit charges that the officer detained the driver at Walnut Creek Apartments, returned to the vehicle where the youth was sleeping, opened the backdoor, attempted to drag the sleeping teenager out of the car, overreacted, pulled out his gun and repeatedly shot the youth in the head and body.  In addition, the lawsuit claims that the City had practices in place at the time of the shooting that contributed to the alleged civil rights violation, including inadequate supervision of officers concerning use of force, the use of excessive deadly force against minorities and inadequate training of officers on how to approach sleeping subjects.

Whether allegedly unlawful police shootings or police abuse and discrimination occurs in Abilene, Amarillo, Austin or elsewhere, victims of police misconduct may make internal complaints to the officer’s employer and contact federal law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Justice, as well as an attorney or lawyer to determine if charges and an excessive force lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential civil rights violation claim.

An attorney for former Houston Texans offensive lineman Fred Weary announced that the federal civil rights lawsuit Weary filed against the City of Houston after Weary was shocked with a taser by police officers during a traffic stop has been dropped.  http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/6465442.html .  In a Chron.com article by Brian Rogers, Weary’s attorney stated that Weary just wanted to see changes and the taser use study called for by the Mayor as well as Weary’s meeting with a Houston Assistant Police Chief convinced Weary that his goals in filing the lawsuit had been met.  According to the article, Weary’s attorney filed the civil rights lawsuit in Houston alleging that Weary’s constitutional rights had been violated by excessive force, malicious prosecution, assault and false imprisonment.

Attorneys with the U.S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) announced in a June 11, 2009 DOJ Press Release that a Chicago police officer has been sentenced to 40 months in federal prison for violating the federal civil rights of a man whom the officer struck repeatedly with a dangerous weapon while the man was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-crt-581.html .  According to the DOJ Press Release, the police officer pleaded guilty and admitted that he used excessive or unreasonable force while acting under the color of law after being charged in April 2008 with depriving the victim of his civil rights.  In pleading guilty, the police officer admitted that on August 2, 2005, while performing his duties as a police officer, he used a “sap” - a dangerous weapon similar to a blackjack - to repeatedly strike the victim, who was handcuffed and shackled in a wheelchair at a Chicago hospital, resulting in bodily injury.  As stated in the Press Release, the victim was awaiting treatment in the hospital after being stabbed in the shoulder.  A DOJ attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “No law enforcement officer may use unreasonable force with impunity and every citizen, regardless of being in police custody, has a Constitutional right to be free from the use of excessive force.”

Whether police officer use of unreasonable force occurs in Bay City, Freeport, Port Lavaca, or elsewhere, victims of police brutality may contact the DOJ and an attorney or lawyer to determine if criminal charges or an excessive force lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential unlawful force claim.

In an April 22, 2009 U. S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) Press Release, the DOJ announced that a former Bexar County Sheriff’s deputy pleaded guilty to a civil rights charge in a San Antonio federal court for using excessive force while working as a detention officer at the county jail.  According to court documents cited by the Press Release, the former deputy acknowledged that he willfully used more force than was necessary when he responded to noisy prisoners inside of a locked holding cell by entering the cell and striking a pretrial detainee.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/2009/April/09-crt-380.html .  As stated in the DOJ Press Release, the prisoner sustained injuries to his head that necessitated medical treatment as a result of the assault.  By pleading guilty, the former deputy acknowledged that he deprived the prisoner of his constitutional right not to be deprived of liberty without due process, which includes the right to be free from the use of excessive force by a law enforcement officer.  An attorney was quoted in the Press Release as saying that “Law enforcement officers take an oath to uphold the law, not to violate it, as this officer did when he abused his authority over a man in his custody.”

Whether law enforcement abuse of authority occurs in Corpus Christi, Houston, San Antonio or elsewhere in Texas, police misconduct victims may report civil rights violations to the DOJ and an officer’s employer, as well as an attorney or lawyer to determine if an excessive force charge or lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the particular facts and circumstances of the potential police authority abuse claim.

In a March 6, 2009 U. S. Department of Justice (”DOJ”) Press Release, the DOJ announced that federal authorities have unsealed an indictment which charges two Houston County deputy sheriffs with civil rights violations related to an alleged assault of an individual in the Davy Crockett National Forest near Crockett, Texas.  See, http://dallas.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel09/dl030609.htm .  According to the Press Release, the two Houston County law enforcement officers, Henry D. Gresham, Jr. and Charles J. Clark, were indicted on March 4, 2009.  In this regard, the indictment alleges that on July 11, 2008, while acting as Houston County law enforcement officials, the men reportedly went to Gresham’s residence, verbally and physically assaulted an individual, and then transported him in a county-owned vehicle to the Davy Crockett National Forest.  As referenced in the Press Release, Clark allegedly discharged a taser into the victim during the drive, and, after arriving in the national forest, the victim was allegedly assaulted again, including being struck in the head with a firearm, knocked to the ground and kicked before the deputies abandoned him.  The law enforcement officers were charged with conspiracy and violation of civil rights as well as assaulting the victim on federal land with a firearm, according to the Press Release.  As noted by the DOJ in the Press Release, an indictment should not be considered as evidence of guilt and all persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.