Louisiana state trooper charged in pummeling of Black man
Source: Associated Press
A former Louisiana State Police trooper has been charged with a civil rights violation for pummeling a Black motorist 18 times with a flashlight — the first criminal case to emerge from federal investigations into troopers’ beatings of at least three Black men.
A grand jury on Thursday indicted Jacob Brown for the 2019 beating following a traffic stop that left Aaron Larry Bowman with a broken jaw, broken ribs and a gash to his head. Brown was charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
Brown’s indictment comes as the federal prosecutors on the case are scrutinizing other troopers who punched, stunned and dragged another Black motorist, Ronald Greene, before he died in their custody on a rural roadside. The probe of Greene’s 2019 death has grown to examine whether police brass obstructed justice to protect the troopers who beat Greene after a high-speed chase.
Body camera video of both beatings, which took place less than three weeks and 20 miles (32 kilometers) apart, remained under wraps before The Associated Press obtained and published them this year. They are among a dozen cases over the past decade in which an AP investigation found troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct.
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By JAKE BLEIBERG and JIM MUSTIAN
an hour ago
Read more: https://apnews.com/article/louisiana-race-and-ethnicity-civil-rights-violations-death-of-ronald-greene-a2f88ffbeea43c6acfc4e9f490ced8f8
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 23, 2021
Louisiana State Police Officer Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charge for Assaulting Arrestee
Jacob Brown, 31, a former trooper with the Louisiana State Police, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, for using excessive force against an arrestee.
The indictment charges Brown with a single count of deprivation of rights under color of law. Specifically, the indictment alleges that on May 30, 2019, Brown assaulted an arrestee, identified in the indictment only as A.B., by repeatedly striking him in the head and body with a dangerous weapon (a flashlight modified with a metal tactical cap designed for breaking glass). The indictment further alleges that the incident resulted in bodily injury to A.B.
If convicted of the deprivation of rights charge, Brown faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.
This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke Walker for the Western District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Katherine G. DeVar of the Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.
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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/louisiana-state-police-officer-indicted-federal-civil-rights-charge-assaulting-arrestee
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