LOUISIANA
Former Mamou, Louisiana, Police Chief Robert McGee, 44, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison for using a taser on an inmate that wasn’t a threat to him or others, according to officials.
McGee admitted to depriving an inmate at the Mamou jail of his constitutional rights by using a taser on the compliant prisoner, officials said.
McGee’s conviction was the result of a federal investigation into the illegal use of excessive force upon inmates at the Mamou jail that also led to the 2015 civil rights conviction of former Mamou Police Chief Gregory Dupuis for unlawfully using a taser against another jail inmate.
McGee, of Mamou, pleaded guilty on Oct. 13, 2015, to one count of violation of an individual’s civil rights, according to officials.
On Oct. 13, 2015, Judge Haik sentenced Dupuis to one year and a day in prison.
According to evidence at McGee’s plea hearing, McGee went to the jail on Aug. 6, 2010, to deal with an inmate who had been verbally, but not physically, disruptive.
McGee engaged the inmate in conversation as a second officer unlocked the cell, officials said.
After the cell door was opened, officials said McGee pointed his taser at the inmate and discharged his taser into the inmate’s chest and abdomen area, even though the inmate was compliant and made no aggressive moves toward the officers or any other person.
The five-second electric shock caused the inmate to fall against the wall of the cell and experience physical pain. At his plea hearing, McGee admitted that he knew at the time that his actions were unlawful, according to authorities.
McGee, who was elected Mamou police chief after this incident, resigned his position as chief on Oct. 8, 2015, as a result of the federal investigation.
“Law enforcement officers are entrusted with the authority to use force for legitimate law enforcement purposes, including maintaining discipline in jails,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “However, the defendant abused that trust by deploying a Taser on a compliant detainee.”
“Law enforcement officers have a duty to ensure that those in their custody are treated fairly and humanely when taken into custody,” said U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of Louisiana. “Mr. McGee breached that trust and violated his oath by using excessive force on an incarcerated individual who complied with orders.”
FBI and the Louisiana State Police investigated this case.