May 15 (UPI) -- An Indianapolis police sergeant pleaded guilty to felony charges on Monday after being caught on body camera kicking a handcuffed man in the face in 2021.
The Justice Department announced that Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Eric Huxley, 44, pleaded guilty to using excessive force while making an arrest on Sept. 24, 2021. Huxley was assisting another officer with a disorderly person when he allegedly "raised his right foot and drove it down" into the man's face while another officer had him on the ground in handcuffs.
The arrestee, a homeless man named Jermaine Vaughn, had been taken down with a department-approved maneuver and was successfully restrained by another officer before Huxley kicked him, according to the Justice Department.
"This police officer violently and callously assaulted a homeless man who posed no threat," Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division said in a statement. "The Justice Department will continue to investigate and prosecute law enforcement officers for violating federal civil rights laws."
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Vaughn was arrested for disorderly conduct.
Huxley faces a 10-year maximum prison sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
Despite the incident taking place in the fall of 2021, Huxley was not charged in federal court until October 2022, more than a year later. He also faces criminal charges in Marion County, where the incident took place. Those charges include felony battery and official misconduct.
In Huxley's plea, he reportedly said that Vaughn was insulting another officer before Huxley kicked him in the face. He also states that he knew he did not have a legitimate reason to kick Vaughn.
