A federal judge has sentenced a former Indiana police officer to 366 days in prison after the ex-cop pleaded guilty to using unreasonable force during the arrest of a Black motorist stopped for an alleged traffic infraction.
According to a statement released on the case by the Department of Justice, Terry Peck will also serve a year of probation after his prison sentence for violating the man’s civil rights.
Court records report the 48-year-old confessed to assaulting Rasaan Hamilton during a traffic stop on March 19, 2019, while working in his capacity as a Gary Police Department officer. He said that he handcuffed the arrestee and forcefully slammed his face and head against a police vehicle, resulting in a broken tooth and causing him bodily injury.
Initially, Peck was charged with the deprivation of rights under the color of law, a count that could have gotten him 10 years in prison for the crime.
The case was handled by the FBI Indianapolis Field Office, Merrillville Resident Agency, who worked to bring justice to the victim.
“All people in our country have a right to be free from excessive force by police officers,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, adding, “The sentencing of this defendant makes clear that officers cannot violate people’s civil rights with impunity.”
U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana stressed that officers, “when interacting with members of the public, even when those public members may have engaged in criminal activity,” must always “conduct themselves within the limits of the Constitution.”
“This successful prosecution demonstrates how justice can prevail when victims and witnesses bravely report criminal misconduct by those who took an oath to serve and protect,” Johnson said.
Prior to his disgraceful departure from the force, records indicate that Peck received a one-day…
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