{"id":28774,"date":"2017-01-09T15:59:01","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T23:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774"},"modified":"2017-01-09T15:59:01","modified_gmt":"2017-01-09T23:59:01","slug":"former-sheriffs-deputy-sentenced-for-slamming-handcuffed-suspect-against-wall-and-punching-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774","title":{"rendered":"Former Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced for Punching Handcuffed Suspect Requesting Trump Pardon"},"content":{"rendered":"

VIRGINIA\"Courtroom\"<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden, of Weirton, West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

The sentencing followed a five-day trial in federal court, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0A jury found Cowden, 51, guilty of deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law.\u00a0 Evidence indicated that Cowden, who was then serving as a lieutenant with the Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Office, used excessive force on an arrestee in handcuffs in the lobby of the sheriff\u2019s office in January 2015.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Jurors were shown evidence that Cowden forced the arrestee face-first into a brick wall, slammed the arrestee\u2019s head into the wall and then punched the arrestee in the back of the head with a closed fist, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

The entire incident was captured by video surveillance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"west-virginia-sheriffs-deputy-mark-a-cowden\"
Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe defendant abused his power as a law enforcement official, using excessive force to harm a person in his custody,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta. \u00a0\u201cActions like these violate federal law and erode public trust.\u00a0 This conviction and sentence send a clear message that the Justice Department will aggressively prosecute officer misconduct and protect the integrity of our justice system.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFormer deputy Cowden\u2019s prosecution and conviction by a jury of his peers, the sentence imposed by the court and the fact that he will never serve another day as a police officer, reinforces to the people of West Virginia the seriousness of the law enforcement community\u2019s commitment to police its own and to remain accountable to the public whom they have sworn to serve and protect,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Steinfeld Jividen. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Adding,\u201cThe unlawful actions of this defendant undermine the character and reputation of the members of our law enforcement community, who follow their training and who strive to promote a culture of fairness, professionalism and respect for the law in their dealings with every individual \u2013 regardless of that person\u2019s alleged actions.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n

The family posted the following on Facebook:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Please sign and share to help support my dad. This means everything to me.
\nBy ELISE COWDEN<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
petition: We ask our newly elected President, Donald Trump to Pardon Lt. Mark “Hoss” Cowden.<\/a><\/div>\n
Mark \u201cHoss\u201d Cowden, a man of great faith in God, a family man (married for 28 yrs. to his…<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

VIRGINIA A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden, of Weirton, West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force The sentencing followed a five-day…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28779,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-main-slider","category-u-s-department-of-justice"],"yoast_head":"\nFormer Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Punching Handcuffed Suspect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden of West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Former Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Punching Handcuffed Suspect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden of West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-01-09T23:59:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"986\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"554\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"Former Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced for Punching Handcuffed Suspect Requesting Trump Pardon\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-09T23:59:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774\"},\"wordCount\":410,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Home Main Slider\",\"U.S. Department of Justice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774\",\"name\":\"Former Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Punching Handcuffed Suspect\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-01-09T23:59:01+00:00\",\"description\":\"A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden of West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=28774#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2017\\\/01\\\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg\",\"width\":986,\"height\":554},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"description\":\""Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." \u2014 Thomas Jefferson\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"width\":675,\"height\":231,\"caption\":\"American Justice Notebook\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\",\"name\":\"Raul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raul\"},\"description\":\"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Former Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Punching Handcuffed Suspect","description":"A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden of West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Former Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Punching Handcuffed Suspect","og_description":"A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden of West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force","og_url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774","og_site_name":"American Justice Notebook","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook","article_published_time":"2017-01-09T23:59:01+00:00","og_image":[{"width":986,"height":554,"url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Raul","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raul","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774"},"author":{"name":"Raul","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0"},"headline":"Former Sheriff’s Deputy Sentenced for Punching Handcuffed Suspect Requesting Trump Pardon","datePublished":"2017-01-09T23:59:01+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774"},"wordCount":410,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg","articleSection":["Home Main Slider","U.S. Department of Justice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774","name":"Former Deputy Sentenced to Prison for Punching Handcuffed Suspect","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg","datePublished":"2017-01-09T23:59:01+00:00","description":"A federal judge Monday sentenced former Hancock County Sheriff\u2019s Deputy Mark A. Cowden of West Virginia, to 18 months in prison for using excessive force","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=28774#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Mark-Cowden.jpeg","width":986,"height":554},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","name":"American Justice Notebook","description":""Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." \u2014 Thomas Jefferson","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization","name":"American Justice Notebook","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","width":675,"height":231,"caption":"American Justice Notebook"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0","name":"Raul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","caption":"Raul"},"description":"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.","sameAs":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28774"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28774\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28781,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28774\/revisions\/28781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28779"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}