Former Hamtramck, Michigan Police Officer Pleads Responsible to Federal Civil Rights Cost For Extreme Use of Pressure | OPA

Former Hamtramck Police Bureau Ryan McInerney, 44, today pleaded guilty in federal court in the eastern district of Michigan to using excessive force against a civilian detainee and violating the detainee’s civil rights.

As a result of the attack, the victim, identified only as DM in court documents, suffered, among other things, broken facial bones and cuts that required sutures.

At the hearing, the defendant admitted that he had initiated a traffic obstruction for DM on the night of June 22, 2014 when he was on duty as an officer in the Hamtramck Police Department (HPD). After DM stopped his car, the defendant approached the driver’s door and ordered DM to put his hands up. DM corresponded. Regardless of this and without justification, the defendant’s pistol lashed DM several times with his service weapon through the open window of DM’s car door. DM posed no threat to the defendant and there was no legitimate reason for the pistol to be flogged. As a result of the strikes, DM suffered broken bones in his face.

The defendant also admitted that he had deliberately put a false report of the incident on an official HPD form of violence in order to cover up his excessive use of force against DM and to prevent further investigation into the incident. The defendant also admitted that during another arrest later that night, he pistol-flogged a second civilian identified as JM and broke JM’s teeth, also without explanation.

“Officials should serve as role models for compliance with the law,” said Eric Dreiband, deputy attorney general for the civil rights division. “It is disheartening to hear a police officer take such action. The Justice Department is working hard to ensure that law enforcement officials see their day in court. “

“Most police officers honorably serve their mission to protect and uphold the citizens of Michigan. This is a rare example of an officer who has fallen well below his duty,” said Matthew Schneider, US attorney of the Eastern District of Michigan. “Officer McInerney abused the power of his badge by violating the civil rights of two Michigan citizens and he deserves federal prison terms for doing so.”

“Police take an oath to protect, serve and uphold the law. If an officer betrays this oath by violating a person’s civil rights, the FBI will make it a priority to hold the officer accountable, ”said Timothy Waters, FBI special envoy in Michigan. “Ryan McInerney’s actions betrayed the trust his community had in him and do not reflect the honorable way the men and women of the Hamtramck Police Department work to protect their community.”

McInerney will be sentenced on April 19, 2021. If the court accepts the objection, McInerney faces a maximum sentence of 36 months in prison.

This case is being investigated by the FBI and is being followed up by U.S. Assistant Attorney Frances Carlson of the Eastern District of Michigan and Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.