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A former Pike County deputy has been convicted of using excessive force against a restrained prisoner
By: WOUB News Team
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A federal jury has convicted a former Pike County sheriff’s deputy who repeatedly punched and pepper sprayed a man in custody who was strapped to a chair.
Jeremy C. Mooney of Piketon faces up to 10 years in prison for violating the constitutional rights of the victim.
Mooney was working a night shift in late 2019 when he transported the victim from the jail to the sheriff’s office and placed him in a restraint chair for violent prisoners.
Then, for more than an hour, Mooney used excessive force against the victim, whose hands were secured behind his back in the chair.
Mooney dragged him outside and sprayed him with pepper spray. The man writhed in pain and tipped the chair over, landing on his back. Mooney sprayed him in the face again.
Mooney then brought the victim back inside and, over a period of time, punched him in the head 11 times, hard enough to break his own hand.
William Stansberry Jr., a former Pike County sheriff’s office supervisor, pleaded guilty last month for failing to intervene and protect the victim.