WASHINGTON D.C. — A former Tennessee police officer who slammed a handcuffed suspect to the floor of a hospital and struck him once in the face in 2011 was sentenced Wednesday to a year in jail.
Christopher Eugene Reynolds, 39, a former police officer of the Selmer, Tenn., Police Department, was sentenced for violating the civil rights of an arrestee, the Justice Department announced.
Reynolds pleaded guilty Nov. 6, 2013, federal prosecutors said.
“The majority of law enforcement officers do not abuse their authority, however, the defendant has admitted that he wrongfully assaulted an arrestee,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Jocelyn Samuels for the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute officers who use their official position to violate the civil rights of those in their custody.”