Shreveport, Louisiana - A former Correctional Officer in Louisiana is charged with violation of civil rights and obstruction offenses involving an excessive force incident.
A federal grand jury in Shreveport, Louisiana, has presented a three-part indictment against former DeSoto Parish Sheriff’s Office’s (DPSO) Correctional Officer, Javarrea Pouncy.
The charges include federal civil rights infractions for allegedly willfully using unreasonable force against a detainee, failing to obtain medical care for the detainee, and obstructing justice.
The charge sheet states that Pouncy, in his role as a DPSO prison officer, used unreasonable force against a detainee by repeatedly striking him in the head and body without legal justification while the detainee was being booked into the DeSoto Parish jail. The charges further accuse that such violence inflicted physical harm to the prisoner. Furthermore, the charge sheet accuses Pouncy of knowingly neglecting the serious health conditions of the detainee and deliberately refraining from providing him with the required medical attention.
The indictment further accuses Pouncy of deliberately obstructing justice by falsifying and incorrectly entering information in a DPSO report with the intent to impede, obstruct, and influence an investigation into the assault. The first count of the indictment charges Pouncy for his unreasonable use of force; count two charges Pouncy for his failure to obtain medical care; and count three charges him with filing the false report.
Should Pouncy be found guilty, he could potentially receive a sentence of up to 10 years in prison for the first and second charges, and a 20-year sentence for the third charge.
An indictment or bill of information is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The announcement was made by Kristen Clarke, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Brandon Brown, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana, and Douglas A. Williams Jr., Special Agent in Charge at the FBI's New Orleans Field Office. The investigation of the case is being handled by the FBI's New Orleans Field Office. The prosecution is being led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Reeg for the Western District of Louisiana, and Erin Monju, Trial Attorney for the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section.