{"id":16445,"date":"2015-10-13T19:07:31","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T02:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16445"},"modified":"2015-10-13T19:07:31","modified_gmt":"2015-10-14T02:07:31","slug":"former-police-chiefs-admit-firing-tasers-at-non-combative-jail-prisoners-video","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=16445","title":{"rendered":"Former Police Chiefs Admit Firing Tasers at Non-Combative Jail Prisoners (Video)"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOUISIANA<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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\"criminal_justice_jurisprudence<\/a>A federal judge sentenced former Mamou, Louisiana Police Chief Gregory W. Dupuis<\/strong> to one year in prison today for illegally using tasers on inmates, officials announced today.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another former Mamou Police Chief Robert McGee<\/strong> plead guilty to one count of the deprivation of rights under color of law.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both of these actions were for their roles in several incidents where they deployed tasers on non-resistant inmates at the Mamou Jail.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLaw enforcement officers have a duty to ensure that detainees are treated fairly and humanely when taken into custody,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley of Louisiana.<\/strong> \u00a0\u201cMr. Dupuis and Mr. McGee breached that trust and violated their oaths by using excessive force on incarcerated individuals.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Dupuis\u2019s and McGee\u2019s guilty pleas are the result of a federal investigation into the illegal use of excessive force upon inmates at the Mamou jail.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dupuis, 57, of Mamou, plead guilty to one count of violation of an individual\u2019s civil rights on Apr. 13.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Mamou<\/a>The FBI<\/strong> and the Louisiana State Police<\/strong> conducted the investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to evidence presented at Dupuis\u2019s plea hearing, Dupuis served as police chief from 1994 to 1997 and from 2004 to 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n

During his tenure as chief, officers, including McGee, repeatedly administered taser shocks as a form of punishment on inmates who were being disruptive, even if the inmates\u2019 disruption was purely verbal.<\/span><\/p>\n

Also officers used tasers on inmates who were calm and compliant.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Apr. 25, 2010, Dupuis went to the department\u2019s jail to deal with a verbally disruptive detainee. \u00a0Dupuis ordered the detainee to get down from his bunk and put his hands on the far wall.<\/span><\/p>\n

The detainee complied.<\/span><\/p>\n

Dupuis then entered the cell and deployed the taser on the detainee\u2019s back, causing the detainee to fall to the ground, suffer pain and injure his knee.<\/span><\/p>\n

At his plea hearing, Dupuis admitted that he knew at the time that his actions were unlawful.<\/span><\/p>\n

McGee, 44, of Mamou, plead guilty today to one count of violation of an individual\u2019s civil rights committed as an officer in 2010, prior to his 2014 election as chief of the Mamou Police Department.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

According to McGee\u2019s guilty plea, McGee was called to the Mamou Police Department<\/strong> on multiple occasions in 2010 and 2011 to deal with disruptive inmates.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Aug. 6, 2010, McGee and an inmate were engaged in a conversation, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the inmate posed no threat to himself or the officers, McGee fired the taser at the inmate, causing him to fall and experience pain, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

McGee, who was elected Mamou police chief after this incident, resigned his position as chief on Oct. 8, as a result of the federal investigation.<\/span><\/p>\n

McGee faces up to 10 years in prison. \u00a0A sentencing date was not set.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe defendants abused the trust given to them as law enforcement officers when they engaged in a pattern of repeatedly tasing compliant detainees,\u201d said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the the Civil Rights Division.<\/strong> \u00a0\u201cThe Justice Department will vigorously prosecute those who violate the civil rights laws to ensure that the rights of all individuals, including those in custody, are protected.\u201d<\/span>
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