OHIO
A federal grand jury this week unsealed an indictment charging El’Shawn Williams, an officer in the Put-in-Bay Police Department, with using excessive force against a man in custody, and then making false statements and writing false reports to cover it up, according to officials.
The indictment alleges that Williams, 28, punched and struck the victim multiple times in the head and body, causing him bodily injury.
If convicted of all the charges, Williams is facing up to 30 years in prison.
Williams is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
The indictment alleges that after the incident, Williams wrote a report that falsely minimized the force he used and failed to disclose that he struck the victim after the victim was restrained by another officer.
It also alleges that Williams gave a false statement to an Ottawa County detective. He denied that he punched the victim, denied hitting him in the face, and denied that he struck him after the victim was restrained by another officer, according to officials.