LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Taxpayers will help cover a six-figure settlement for a former Kentucky State Police trooper accused of lying under oath about hitting a man with a flashlight.
KSP will pay $130,000 of the $135,000 settlement, and the remaining $5,000 is expected to be paid by Thomas Czartorski.
Czartorski is accused of going to a Shepherdsville home in April 2020 with other officers to arrest Alex Hornback in relation to a Louisville Metro Police Department harassment case.
Hornback's father recorded his son's arrest on his cell phone, but officers on the scene that night made him delete it. But the trooper didn't know the family also had a security camera in the home.
Footage taken on those cameras shows Hornback get taken down and hit in the legs with a flashlight several times by Czartorski.
It was evident that Czartorski didn't know the cameras were there when he was questioned during a federal deposition. When asked if he had used any force on Hornback when he was taken to the ground, Czartorski replied "No." When asked if he struck Hornback with an object, he again replied "No."
KSP charged Czartorski with perjury. He pleaded not guilty to the charge in August 2021. A grand jury in November 2021 charged him with perjury after making a false statement on Jan. 18, 2021 during his testimony.
He resigned under threat of termination.
Almost two years later, the case is still pending. Court records show Hornback was eventually convicted of stalking and was sentenced to 18 months.
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