LAS VEGAS
A federal grand jury indicted a former Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department officer with beating a suspect and lying about it, according to officials.
The indictment alleges that Richard Thomas Scavone grabbed the victim around the neck, threw him on the ground, struck him in the forehead with an open palm, slammed his head on the hood of his patrol car and then, slammed him on the door of the patrol vehicle, according to officials.
The unidentified victim was being arrested when Scavone allegedly assaulted him, officials said.
Scavone is also charged with obstruction because on Jan. 6, 2015, he falsified and made false entries in a document with the intent of impeding, obstructing and influencing the investigation of the FBI.
If convicted, Scavone is facing up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the civil rights count, and a maximum sentence of 20 years and a $250,000 fine on the obstruction count.
The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
The FBI investigated this case.
Scavone’s first court appearance in the federal case will be Jan. 20. in connection with a misdemeanor battery charge he is facing in Las Vegas related to the case, according to the officials.