WASHINGTON—The Justice Department
announced today that former Bryan County (Oklahoma) Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant
Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, from Achille, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty in federal court
to using a Taser to assault a detainee inside of the Bryan County Jail in
Durant, Oklahoma, thereby depriving the detainee of his civil rights.
During the plea hearing and in the plea
documents, Holt admitted that he intentionally used unreasonable force on a
detainee when he electronically shocked the detainee by using a Taser device
while the detainee was strapped into a restraint chair. The defendant also
admitted that his unlawful Taser deployment injured the victim.
“Today the defendant was held
accountable for abusing his authority and assaulting the victim,” said Thomas
E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Such
conduct cannot be tolerated in a civilized society.”
When Holt is sentenced, he faces a
maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000
for this crime.
This case was investigated by the FBI.
The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nicole Lee Ndumele of the Civil
Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Dean Burris from the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
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