A former Indianapolis police sergeant pleaded guilty Monday to one civil rights charge for stomping on the head of a man who had been arrested and held, federal prosecutors said.
Eric Huxley, 44, was charged in October with one count of disenfranchisement under the appearance of law in the September 24, 2021 incident.
Huxley, who had been a police sergeant, faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, but sentencing guidelines usually play a role and sentencing is up to the judge. No sentencing date has been set as of Monday.
“This police officer violently and callously assaulted a homeless man who posed no threat,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. a declaration.
Body camera video released by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department showed the arrested man, Jermaine Vaughn, handcuffed and on his back as he was kicked in the face.
Police were called on a disorderly conduct complaint at Monument Circle when Vaughn was handcuffed by other officers and restrained, when Huxley «intentionally lifted his right foot and slammed it into JV’s» head and face, the officer said. Justice Department.
Huxley’s attorney, John Kautzman, declined to comment until after the sentencing.