Former corrections officer sentenced to federal prison for assaulting inmate

September 29th, 2020

Awake Goy

After pleading guilty to using
excessive force against a pretrial detainee, a former Louisiana corrections
officer was recently sentenced to 11 months in federal prison.

On June 14, 2018, a pretrial
detainee identified only as “K.F.” began banging on the door of his locked
holding cell at the Rapides Parish Sheriff’s Office (RPSO), Detention Center 1,
in Alexandria, Louisiana. Due to the fact that K.F. was naked, Officer Dominic
Davidson put on a pair of rubber gloves before entering the inmate’s cell and
abruptly attacking K.F. without legal justification.

According to plea documents,
Davidson immediately shoved the inmate to the floor before striking him
repeatedly in the head and torso. At no point before, during, or after the
assault did K.F. pose a threat to himself or others.

In June, Davidson pleaded guilty to
one misdemeanor
count of violating the civil rights of an inmate in his custody. On Friday,
U.S. District Court Judge Dee Drell sentenced him to 11 months in federal
prison, followed by one year of supervised release.

“Physical, violent, and unjustified
abuse by members of our law enforcement community is unlawful,” stated
Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Civil Rights Division. “The
Justice Department is dedicated to ensuring that no one in this country is
above the law and will continue to prosecute anyone who uses a position of
power illegally to violate the civil rights of others.”

“Correctional officers have a sworn
duty to ensure that inmates are protected, rather than abused,” Acting U.S.
Attorney Alexander Van Hook for the Western District of Louisiana said in a
recent statement.
“The abuse of authority by this law enforcement officer and the violation of
the inmate’s civil rights will not be tolerated.”

“Along with our partners, the FBI will aggressively investigate allegations wherein correctional officers abuse their position of power and authority over prisoners to deny them their constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment,” asserted FBI Special Agent in Charge Bryan Vorndran. “The law suffers the most when those in a position of trust abuses their power. The FBI is appreciative of its partnerships with the Rapides Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s office of the Western District of Louisiana and the trial attorneys from the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.”