A former Kentucky corrections sergeant, Eric L. Nantell, 48, was sentenced Monday to seven years in prison for not stopping an assault on a handcuffed inmate and lying about the incident to the FBI, officials stated.
Nantell was convicted after a four-day trial.
Six other officers previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the assault and cover-up, and three of those officers testified for the government at trial, according to authorities.
During a routine prisoner escort at the Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex (EKCC), Sergeant Nantell witnessed a brutal assault that would later become the focus of a significant investigation, officials state.
Nantell was supervising when three officers, including two from the prison’s internal affairs department, attacked a non-violent inmate who was lying face-down in a shower cell, handcuffed, and shackled.
The inmate was defenseless as the officers repeatedly punched and kicked him in the head and back.
Nantell stood at the shower door, watching the savage beating for over 20 seconds before walking away, leaving the officers to continue their assault. The inmate, who had been completely restrained, suffered the brutal attack without any provocation or means of defense.
The inmate reported the incident within hours, prompting an immediate investigation by EKCC supervisors and the Kentucky State Police.
Instead of coming clean, Nantell participated in a cover-up, lying to investigators from both agencies and a special agent of the FBI in an attempt to conceal the truth about the vicious attack.
“As the vicious beating of a handcuffed, leg-shackled inmate unfolded, this defendant failed to intervene to stop the assault and then abused his power by obstructing the investigation into the crime,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This cover-up scheme failed. All seven officers who participated in the brutal assault of the inmate or the coordinated cover-up that followed have been brought to justice.”
“Instead of protecting someone in his custody and care or supervising others under his command, he turned a blind eye to a brutal beating and then tried to cover it up,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “That’s not law enforcement; that’s disgraceful criminal conduct. Fortunately, he now faces the consequences of his utter betrayal of responsibility and callous attempts to undermine genuine law enforcement.”
“In this case, one inmate was betrayed by no less than seven corrections officers whose basic duty was to protect the civil rights of all the inmates under their supervision,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office. “With today’s sentencing, all of the officers who took part in the assault, and those who attempted to cover up
the truth, have now been held accountable.”
The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Thomas Johnson of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case.