ALABAMA
A federal jury convicted a Huntsville, Alabama police officer of punching and kneeing a handcuffed suspect and then, lying about the incident, officials announced today.
Huntsville Police Department Officer Brett Russell, 48, of deprivation of rights under color of law for assaulting and injuring G.H., a detainee, as well as obstruction of justice for filing a false police report regarding this incident.
Russell is facing up to 30 years in prison when he is sentenced. Sentencing has not yet been set, officials said.
“Most police officers honor their oaths, day in and day out, to uphold the law and protect the public, but this defendant disgraced his badge and used excessive force against a man in handcuffs,” said U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance of the Northern District of Alabama. “This verdict reflects that abusing the authority of a police badge is a serious crime and it will be punished accordingly. My office remains committed to aggressive civil rights enforcement, and I thank the FBI for its dedication to investigating and compiling evidence in these type of cases. ”
The jury took six hours to deliberate before returning the verdict, according to TV news WHNT 19.
Russell was taken into custody and will be held in an isolation cell at the Morgan County Jail. His attorney asked the judge to consider special circumstances for Russell because he’s a police officer. But the judge denied that request because Russell was convicted of a violent crime, TV news report said.
Here is what the evidence showed, according to federal officials:
On Dec. 23, 2011,Gary Wayne Hopkins was detained in the rear of a police vehicle parked in a hotel parking lot.
After initially uttering profanity and kicking a rear window, Hopkins sat handcuffed, compliant and nonresisting for approximately 30 minutes.
As officers attempted to remove G.H. from the vehicle to place leg shackles on him, Russell yanked Hopkins from the vehicle.
While Hopkins was lying handcuffed on the ground, the defendant repeatedly punched and kneed Hopkins.
Other officers placed leg shackles on Hopkins and Russell then transported Hopkins to the Madison County, Alabama, Jail.
When the jail refused to accept Hopkins because of his injuries, Russell transported Hopkins to the Huntsville Hospital. Russell subsequently wrote and submitted a false report claiming that G.H. tried to kick and head butt the officers. Further, Russell omitted from the false report any reference to the fact that he had used force on Hopkins.
The FBI investigated this case.
