Kentucky State Police officers face charges after allegedly using unreasonable force
Three Kentucky State Police officers used unreasonable force on a person and one lied while under oath in a court case, a federal grand jury has charged.
The grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment Tuesday charging Thomas Czartorski, 34, Jarrod Lewis, 29, and James Cameron Wright, 30, according to a release from U.S. Attorney Michael A, Bennett and the Michael E. Stansbury, special agent in charge of the FBI in Kentucky.
Czartorski faces two charges of using unreasonable force, while Lewis is charged with one count of using unreasonable force and Wright is charged with two counts of using excessive force and one count of perjury, according to the release.
The indictment alleges that Czartorski stomped and kicked on a person’s back, feet and ankles in March 2020 in Hardin County.
During the same incident, Lewis stomped and kicked the victim in the head, face, shoulders and upper body, and Wright also kicked the person, the indictment alleges.
The indictment did not say whether the alleged illegal force took place during an arrest.
In separate incidents cited in the charges, Czartoski allegedly hit someone with a flashlight without justification in Hardin County in April 2020, and Wright allegedly used a Taser on someone in March 2024 in the county.
The final charge in the indictment alleges that Wright lied while being questioned under oath in a civil lawsuit in January 2021, saying he did not hit a person during an arrest when in fact he did.
The release from federal authorities said Czartorski is a former state police officer while Lewis and Wright are current troopers.
State police spokeswoman Sherry Bray said Czartorski had not been with the agency since February 2021 and Lewis and Wright were suspended effective March 4 pending the outcome of the criminal case.
“The Kentucky State Police is committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism, ethics and morals in service to the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky,” Bray said.
This story was originally published March 4, 2025 at 4:38 PM.
