LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- An officer at Louisville Metro Corrections was indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury for using unlawful force against a pre-trial detainee, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.
Darrell Taylor Jr., 32, used "unreasonable force" when he assaulted an unnamed detainee, resulting in a broken jaw.
He's charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, the DOJ said.
The FBI Louisville Field Office investigated the case.
It's unclear when the alleged incident took place, but Daniel Johnson, president of the Metro Corrections FOP union, said the alleged incident happened in December 2020. He added that Taylor was let go four months after being accused of using unlawful force and not wearing a body camera.
Johnson said Taylor was on third shift at the time of the incident and put his body camera on a charger. The incident happened toward the end of his shift while he was serving breakfast, Johnson said.
The union president said had Taylor worn his body cam at the time, he may have had a better case of justifying his actions.
"It was a person in the dorm, probably shouldn't have been in general population to begin with, had some mental health problems. So he wanted to go in and get that person out of the dorm and get him somewhere safe and get him evaluated," Johnson said. "Found himself between a rock and a hard spot, trying to do the right thing. I understand he's still going through the process and I'm sure he looks forward to his day in court."
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