Federal Civil Rights Violation Indictment

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.