LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky State Police charged a former trooper with perjury after he was accused of lying about using force during an arrest.
Trooper Thomas Czartorski entered a Shepherdsville home on April 9, 2020 to arrest Alex Hornback, who was wanted by the Louisville Metro Police Department's Domestic Violence Unit in relation to a harassment case.
In security video from inside the home, a KSP trooper later identified as Czartorski is seen hitting Hornback several times in the legs with a flashlight, but in a deposition on Jan. 18, 2021, Czartorski denies it.
"When he was taken to the ground, did you use any force on him," Attorney Chris Wiest asked.
Czartorski answers, "No."
The attorney then asks, "Did you ever strike him with any object?"
He responds, "No."
On July 9, state police charged Czartorski with perjury for the statement.
"We've seen witnesses lie under oath thinking they can get away with it," Wiest said. "Every once in a while you have a case like this where you catch them red handed."
Czartorski had two other use of force complaints days before the Shepherdsville arrest, one involving him hitting another person with a flashlight.
State police suspended Czartorski for the other two incidents and required him to undergo more training, according to statements he made during the deposition. At the time of the interview, he had not completed the training and during his suspension, the Kentucky National Guard Unit he serves with was called into duty to provide vaccines and pandemic assistance in nursing home facilities.
Wiest is representing Hornback and his parents in a federal civil rights lawsuit against the three officers involved in the arrest, which is separate from KSP's perjury case.
Hornback's father tried to record the officers' actions.
"They threatened Dad," Wiest said. "Dad ended up deleting the cell phone video as a consequence of them threatening him."
But the family's hidden security camera captured the incident, and Czartorski spoke at the deposition without knowledge of it.
Weeks after the deposition, Hornback's attorney released the video that allegedly shows Czartorski hitting Hornback with a flashlight on social media and YouTube.
The officer's KSP-appointed council has since resigned from the case.
A spokesperson with KSP said Czartorski is no longer with the law enforcement agency. The spokesperson did not clarify whether he was terminated or resigned.
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