Former Kentucky police officer admits illegally punching man in the face during arrest
A former Kentucky police officer has admitted using excessive force against a man during an arrest.
Shawn K. Curry pleaded guilty to a federal charge of violating the man’s Constitutional rights.
The incident happened in September 2021 in Manchester after Curry and other officers responded to a call about a disturbance at a pool hall, according to the court record. Curry was an officer with the Manchester Police Department at the time.
After arriving, he saw another Manchester officer and a Kentucky State Police trooper trying to arrest a man.
The Manchester officer had forced the man to the floor and was hitting him in the back in an effort to get him to stop resisting, and the trooper was using a stun gun on him, according to the court record.
Instead of putting handcuffs on the man, Curry grabbed him by the hair with one hand and punched him five times in the head and face with the other, according to his plea agreement.
Curry acknowledged in his plea that he knew that use of force was unreasonable.
After the incident, Curry lied to a state police supervisor about his actions and didn’t include information on his use of force in paperwork even though he was required to report it, according to the plea.
U.S. District Judge Robert E Wier accepted Curry’s plea Monday and scheduled him to be sentenced Dec. 11.
The maximum penalty would be 10 years in prison, but Curry’s sentence under advisory guidelines is likely to be less.
