A former leader deputy of the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office has been sentenced to over 3 and a part years in jail for the use of excessive force, consistent with officers. Steven “Craig” Shelton, 62, admitted to hitting a handcuffed suspect a couple of instances within the face when the suspect used to be being compliant on September 21, 2021, inflicting accidents. Shelton said that the incident happened in entrance of a number of different officials in Rolling Oaks, Wills Point, Texas whilst expressing his frustration with the suspect. Despite there being no respectable reason why for excessive force, Shelton had violated the sufferer’s civil rights and the general public’s accept as true with through abusing his authority as a regulation enforcement officer, mentioned Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. Shelton used to be up to now discovered in charge of violating the arrestee’s civil rights through pleading in charge and used to be sentenced to 44 months in jail, consistent with the Justice Department’s news liberate on May 31, 2023.
U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs for the Eastern District of Texas claimed that it’s unacceptable for a police officer to hit a handcuffed arrestee who poses no danger, as it’s an abuse in their authority. Diggs said that public accept as true with in regulation enforcement is diminished when officials don’t observe the regulations they swear to put in force. The FBI Dallas Field Office carried out an investigation on Shelton’s case, whilst Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Batson for the Eastern District of Texas and Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert and Trial Attorney Matthew Tannenbaum of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.