A former Louisiana State Police trooper was officially charged on Thursday for violating the civil rights of Aaron Larry Bowman.
In 2019, NBC News reported that trooper Jacob Brown pounded Bowman 18 times with a tactical flashlight during a traffic stop.
The indictment of the 31-year-old ex-trooper is the first criminal case to come from a federal investigation surrounding the beatings of several Black motorists by the Louisiana State Police unit known as Troop F, which consists of mostly white officers.
Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook of the Western District of Louisiana and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division released the statement that Brown was charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law.
If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The 46-year-old victim was hospitalized for a broken jaw, busted ribs, and a gash to his head. His attorney, Donecia Banks-Miley, said the news of the indictment was “a sigh of relief.”
“We’re just trying to remain hopeful and trust the process of justice,” she told The Associated Press. “Aaron is extremely happy, and he just wants full justice.”
Brown was already facing legal woes, including state criminal charges in connection with the arrests of Bowman and two other Black motorists. Then came his federal indictment, which accuses him of using “unreasonable force during an arrest.”
“Specifically, Brown repeatedly struck A.B. in the head and body with a metal flashlight with a tactical cap, without legal justification,” the indictment read.
The federal investigation of Troop F was launched after Ronald Greene, another Black man, died two years ago following a high-speed chase.
The AP obtained the body camera video, which shows Greene being stunned, punched, dragged, and left without medical assistance for about 9 minutes on a rural road near Monroe.
Brown was not involved in the arrest of Greene.
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