Federal Sentencing Set for June in Lexington on Criminal Civil Rights Violations, Falsifying Reports to Hide Assaults
By JOSH MITCHELL
Editor
River Mississippi News
KENTUCKY — A Kentucky deputy will be sentenced in four months for committing violent acts against several people three years ago during the execution of his official duties.
Ex-Boyle County Sheriff’s Deputy Tanner Abbott, 31, was found guilty of criminal civil rights violations and obstruction of justice by a federal jury this week in Lexington, according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
Trial evidence convinced jurors beyond a reasonable doubt that Abbott in 2021 intentionally violated four people’s civil rights through the use of excessive force and then obstructed justice by falsifying official law enforcement reports and directing another to do so as well to cover up the violent misconduct.
“We’re grateful to this jury of Kentucky citizens who held an officer accountable for repeatedly and violently brutalizing people he was arresting, even though they were not resisting arrest and did not pose a threat,” DOJ Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in the news release.
The case was described by U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky as a “disgraceful example of betrayal of trust, a profound violation of the rights of others, and a danger to our communities.”
Public trust betrayals such as these damage the reputations of oath-abiding law enforcement officers who risk their lives to keep the public safe from harm, Shier added.
“The defendant will now face the consequences of such a grave betrayal of the public trust,” he said in the release.
Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office said his agency “rigorously” investigates “allegations of color of law violations.”
Below is the news release breaking down the details of the crimes for which Abbott will be sentenced for on June 7 in Lexington at 10 a.m. CST.
DOJ news release portion start:
“According to evidence presented at trial, on Jan. 20, 2021, Abbott conducted a traffic stop on two young men driving to a restaurant in Danville, Kentucky. When the driver requested to speak with the defendant’s supervisor, Abbott punched him in the face, pulled him out of the car and struck him several more times as he lay on the ground, not resisting arrest or posing any threat. When the passenger, the driver’s brother, stepped out of the car and pleaded with Abbott to stop the beating, the defendant struck him in the face with an elbow, breaking his glasses.
On Feb. 2, 2021, Abbott was involved in another traffic stop during which the passenger of the stopped vehicle was arrested. While the passenger was being handcuffed, the defendant suddenly and without justification punched him in the face, although the passenger’s actions posed no threat to the defendant at the time. The defendant then conspired with another officer to write a report in which the other officer falsely alleged that the victim had advanced aggressively toward Abbott before being punched.
On March 31, 2021, the defendant went to a hotel in Harrodsburg, Kentucky, intending to search the room of a guest. He obtained a key to the room he wished to search by falsely representing to hotel staff that he had a search warrant, then used the key to force his way into the room, over the guest’s objection. Once inside, without consent or other lawful authority, he conducted an intrusive search of the guest’s personal property. Abbott then wrote a false report in which he claimed the guest had consented to the search.
On April 28, 2021, the defendant arrested a driver who had failed to pull over when the defendant attempted to conduct a traffic stop of his car. After the chase ended and the driver had been arrested and handcuffed, Abbott approached the driver and punched him in the face, although he was not resisting arrest and posed no threat to the defendant or anyone else.
The jury convicted Abbott of four counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, one count of conspiracy and one count of falsification of records within federal jurisdiction. Abbott was also found not guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. A sentencing here is scheduled for June 7, at 10:00 AM in Lexington.
The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Dembo for the Eastern District of Kentucky are prosecuting the case.”
