Department of Justice Investagates Police Brultality

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETuesday, December 20, 2011
U.S. Bureau of Prisons Employee Pleads Guilty in Florida to Sexual Abuse of a Ward
WASHINGTON – Bureau of Prisons employee Jack Chris Jackson, 45, pleaded guilty today to the charge of sexual abuse of a ward, announced the Department of Justice.



During the plea proceedings, Jackson admitted to having a sexual relationship with an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) in Miami. This inmate was in Jackson’s custodial and supervisory authority at FCI.



“We will not tolerate corrections officers engaging in this behavior with institutionalized persons,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will vigorously prosecute individuals who abuse their position and authority in this manner.”



U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Wifredo A. Ferrer added, “This correction officer abused his official position. This conduct is an intolerable breach of trust that not only endangers the safety of inmates but also compromises prison security. Our office will prosecute all official corruption cases to the fullest extent of the law.”



Jackson faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. Sentencing has been set for March 19, 2012.



This case was investigated by the FBI and the Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Susan Rhee Osborne of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Henry Leventis of the Civil Rights Division.

11-1686Civil Rights Division
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2011/December/11-crt-1686.html
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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEFriday, January 6, 2012
Two Former Alabama Sheriff’s Office Deputies Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting Handcuffed Man in Custody
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that Kirby Dollar and Timothy Watford, former deputies with the Russell County, Ala., Sheriff’s Office, were sentenced in federal court in Montgomery, Ala., for their participation in the beating of a handcuffed man who had been taken into official custody. U.S. District Court Judge Mark E. Fuller sentenced Dollar, 37, to 46 months in prison and Watford, 42, to 34 months in prison.



Dollar pleaded guilty on Aug.11, 2011, to willfully depriving the victim of his constitutional right to be free from the use of excessive force. Watford was convicted of the same charge by a federal jury sitting in Opelika, Ala., on Sept, 1, 2011, following a three day trial.



Evidence presented during the court proceedings established that Dollar and Watford, while acting in their capacity as law enforcement officers, punched, kicked and slapped the victim, who was lying on the ground in handcuffs and offering no resistance. The victim suffered multiple lacerations, facial fractures and a ruptured eardrum. Dollar admitted, and witnesses during Watford’s trial confirmed, that the attack was entirely unprovoked.



“These convictions and sentences demonstrate that the use of excessive force cannot be tolerated,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “The vast majority of police officers do an outstanding job in protecting both the community and the rights of the accused, even in stressful situations. But when police officers use excessive force to punish arrestees, they will be held accountable.”



“As well intended as some officers may be, police activity must remain within constitutional bounds,” said George L. Beck Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama. “Let these two convictions and sentences serve as examples of bad conduct that will be prosecuted by this office. Emotions cannot overcome good judgment. Zealousness cannot overcome good training. And brutality can never be a substitute for effective law enforcement.”



FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Lewis M. Chapman stated, “Today’s sentencing of former Russell County Deputies Kirby Dollar and Tim Watford brings some closure to a breach of trust by law enforcement officers. Law enforcement officers must always act within the bounds of the law under any circumstance and particularly while safeguarding our communities and citizens. The investigation of Civil Rights violations continues to be one of the FBI’s top priorities; and, these sentences reaffirm our commitment to enforcing those standards on ourselves and the law enforcement community.”
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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEThursday, January 12, 2012
Deputy US Marshal in Chicago Indicted for Civil Rights Violations
WASHINGTON - A federal grand jury in Chicago returned an indictment today charging Deputy U.S. Marshal Stephen Linder, 36, with violations of federal criminal civil rights law related to two separate incidents in which Linder assaulted a handcuffed civilian.



The indictment charges Linder with a criminal civil rights violation for punching and choking a handcuffed man on July 8, 2010, and with obstructing justice for attempting to persuade another law enforcement officer to withhold evidence of the assault. Linder was also charged with a criminal civil rights violation for head-butting a handcuffed man on May 13, 2008, and with obstructing justice by persuading another law enforcement officer to withhold evidence of the assault.



Each of the civil rights counts carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Each of the obstruction counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Each count in the indictment also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.



An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.



This case is being investigated by the Department of Justice’s Office of the Inspector General and is being prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.