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West Virginia Sheriff Candidate Convicted Of Excessive Force
By: Associated Press
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WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) – A Republican candidate for Hancock County sheriff has been convicted of using excessive force when he was a sheriff’s lieutenant.
A federal jury in Wheeling found 51-year-old Mark Cowden guilty Monday of one count of deprivation of rights. He was found not guilty of falsifying documents.
According to evidence presented during his five-day trial, Cowden threw a handcuffed drunken driving suspect face first into a brick wall and punched him in the head in January 2015. Cowden retired later that year.
Cowden faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine at sentencing.
He is facing Democratic incumbent Sheriff Ralph Fletcher in the Nov. 8 election.