US justice has handed down the first sentences against white police officers who, in 2017, beat a black protester without knowing that he was in fact a colleague working undercover.
A federal judge on Tuesday July 13 sentenced to more than four years in prison Randy Hays, 34, who had pleaded guilty to“Unreasonable use of force”, according to court documents. His ex-girlfriend Bailey Colletta, who tried to cover him up, was sentenced to three years in prison for false testimony on Thursday, according to local daily reporters. St-Louis Post-Dispatch.
In June, another agent, Dustin Boone, was convicted by a jury. His sentence will be pronounced on September 15, four years to the day after the event at the origin of this case, emblematic among others of police abuse in the United States.
“It will be fun to tap on these knot heads”
On September 15, 2017, the city of St. Louis, Missouri, was set ablaze after the acquittal of a white police officer who killed a black man in a 2011 chase. The city then deployed riot control units to restore calm.
Responsible for arresting the disturbing elements, several agents had, according to the indictment, expressed their “Contempt for the demonstrators” and their “Excitement at the idea of using force against them”. “It will be fun to tap on these knot heads when the sun has gone down and we won’t be able to recognize us anymore”, had thus declared Dustin Boone in a discussion transcribed in a judicial document.
So on September 17, they attacked a black colleague in civilian clothes, Luther Hall, who was responsible for collecting intelligence in the processions. Believing it was a protester, they had it “Thrown to the ground and severely beaten, while cooperating and posing no physical threat”, according to the indictment. His white teammate, also in civilian clothes, had however escaped their blows.
After discovering his identity, they produced false testimony in an attempt to justify their behavior. They had also contacted their victim, a police officer with twenty-two years of experience, to dissuade her from filing a complaint, without success. In February, the city of Saint-Louis agreed to pay Mr. Hall $ 5 million to end a civil complaint.
