Nov. 8 (UPI) -- A Louisiana jury on Thursday convicted a former supervisor at a state penitentiary in Angola for beating a handcuffed inmate.
After the three-day trial, the jury convicted Daniel Davis, 41, of concocting a cover story, submitting false reports containing that cover story, tampering with witnesses and lying under oath.
"Charged with protecting the civil rights of others, to include those in custody, is a responsibility the FBI takes very seriously," Eric J. Rommal, FBI New Orleans Special Agent in Charge said in a statement. "Law enforcement officers and correctional officers acting under the color of law must ensure a person's civil rights are not violated. The jury's decision today reinforces the FBI's commitment that civil rights and color of law violations will not be tolerated."
Davis received a conviction on four counts of obstruction in a prior trial for conspiring with other officers to come up with a false story to cover up the same inmate's beating.
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Four other officers pleaded guilty to the coverup and the beating, where along with Davis, they kicked, punched and stomped the inmate in 2016.
The beating left the inmate with a bloody eye, a dislocated shoulder, a collapsed lung and broken ribs.
The judge has not set a sentencing date. Davis could face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison on the conspiracy and perjury counts, plus 10 years on the excessive force count and 20 years on each of the remaining obstruction counts.
"Mr. Davis abused the justice system by beating an inmate, writing false reports, and using his influence and power as a corrections officer to encourage others to lie," said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Civil Rights Division in a statement. "The Justice Department will continue to prosecute correctional officers who violate federal criminal law."
