GEORGIA
A federal prison guard who punched an inmate in the face and tried to cover up his crime was sentenced to a year and eight months in prison, according to officials.
U.S. District Judge Steven C. Jones sentenced Gregory McLeod, 44, of East Point, Georgia, and a former correctional officer and supervisor at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta (USP Atlanta).
McLeoad admitted to using excessive force against the inmate in 2016, officials said.
He wrote two false reports about the incident in an effort to cover up the crime.
According to information presented in court, McLeod, who achieved the rank of lieutenant, and worked as a supervisor at the prison, strip searched an inmate in his office in front of three other correctional officers. After the inmate complained that the strip search was taking too long, McLeod repeatedly punched the inmate in his face, injuring him.
Following the assault, McLeod wrote an incident report and a separate memorandum about the encounter in which he falsely claimed that the inmate swung a closed fist at McLeod and attempted to assault other officers before the officers could apply hand and leg restraints, according to officials.
“McLeod broke the law and repeatedly lied about his conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The men and women who work in prisons and jails have very stressful jobs, but they must adhere to the laws that each has sworn to uphold. At the same time, inmates and detainees in our nation’s prisons and jails have the right to be free from the use of excessive force.”
“We certainly understand that detention officers have a difficult job maintaining order and protecting inmates in our nation’s prisons,” said David J. LeValley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “But inherent in that job is a power that cannot be abused. It is unfortunate that the actions of this one defendant harm the reputation of the vast majority of officers who respect that power.”
At his guilty plea on Nov. 22, 2017, McLeod admitted that he used excessive force and that he intentionally violated the inmate’s constitutional rights. McLeod also admitted that he intentionally impeded and obstructed the investigation of the incident by writing the two false reports.