Six Cleveland police officers
have been fired in connection with a 20-mile car chase in 2012 that ended with
officers firing 137 bullets at a car, killing Timothy Russell and Malissa
Williams, said Steve Loomis, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's
Association.
He identified the officers as
Wilfredo Diaz, Brian Sabolik, Erin O'Donnell, Michael Farley, Chris Ereg and
Michael Brelo. Brelo allegedly fired 49 of the shots, including 15 from the hood
of the car carrying Russell and Williams. Brelo was acquitted of manslaughter
last year.
Former Madison County Deputy Pleads Guilty To Lying Under Oath To Obstruct Investigation Into Beating
Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Northern District of Alabama
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
HUNTSVILLE – Former Madison
County Sheriff’s Deputy Justin Watson, 31, pleaded guilty today to obstructing
a federal investigation into the beating of a local handyman, U.S. Attorney
Joyce White Vance and the Justice Department announced.
According to evidence presented
in court, Watson, while off-duty, got into a bar fight with the handyman. Watson searched for the man over the next
several weeks, and when he observed the man driving down the highway, Watson
pulled him over and ordered him out of his truck. Watson proceeded to strike the man in the
face, hit him with a baton and choke him until he was unconscious. At a later criminal proceeding, Watson
knowingly and falsely claimed, under oath, that he had never seen the man
before the traffic stop and that he had not gotten into a bar fight with the
man.
“This deputy, who was sworn to uphold the law,
brazenly chose to violate it,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General
Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We cannot, and will not, tolerate police
officers who lie under oath to obstruct the pursuit of justice.”
“My office is committed to
investigating allegations of police misconduct, and prosecuting cases where
appropriate, in order to ensure that everyone in our community can expect fair
treatment from law enforcement,” Vance said. “Any law enforcement officer who
tries to interfere with an investigation into police misconduct should expect
scrutiny for that misbehavior, as well.
The vast majority of police officers performs their duties with
integrity, even in difficult and trying situations, and supports efforts to
prosecute officers who commit misconduct.
We appreciate that professionalism and want the public to be aware that
we are committed, alongside of our state and local law enforcement colleagues,
to ensuring that police officers behave in a fair and lawful manner.”
Watson faces a maximum sentence
of 20 years in federal prison. He will
be sentenced at a later date.
This case was investigated by the
FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Stuart Burrell and
Trial Attorney Christopher Perras of the Criminal Section of the DOJ Civil
Rights Division.
