Former KY police officer sentenced for wrongful arrest

WASHINGTON, D.C. (WTVQ) – A former police officer from Kentucky was sentenced to almost four years in prison on Thursday for assaulting and wrongfully arresting a man who complained about him, according to prosecutors.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a man called the Providence Police Department to file a complaint about William Dukes, Jr.

Prosecutors say Dukes threatened to arrest the man if he complained about him again.

When the victim called again to file a complaint about Dukes, prosecutors say Dukes drove to the victim’s home in the middle of the night and, without a warrant, entered the victim’s home.

Once inside, they say Dukes used a taser gun on the victim, pepper sprayed him, struck him repeatedly with a police baton, and punched him in the face, breaking the victim’s nose.

Prosecutors say Dukes then handcuffed the victim and charged him with four crimes, including a charge of property damage because blood from the victim’s broken nose got onto Dukes’s police uniform.

The jury convicted Dukes of willfully violating the victim’s constitutional rights, and found that the offense involved the use of a dangerous weapon or resulted in bodily injury.

Dukes was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release.