San Antonio Civil Rights Excessive Force Case

The U.S. Department of Justice announced in an April 22, 2009 Press Release that a former Bexar County Sheriff’s Office deputy pleaded guilty to a civil rights charge in federal court in San Antonio Texas for using excessive force against a prisoner while working as a detention officer at the Bexar County jail, and, according to documents cited in the Press Release, the former deputy acknowledged he used more force than necessary in a 2006 incident.  See, http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/April/09-crt-380.html .  As stated in the Press Release, a prisoner received head injuries that necessitated medical treatment resulting from 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.  The Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division 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 excessive force or abuse by law enforcement occurs in San Antonio or elsewhere, victims of police misconduct or abuse may make formal complaints to the Justice Department and consult an attorney to determine if a civil rights lawsuit may ultimately be appropriate under the facts and circumstances of the potential case.