Police Chief in Omega, Georgia, Indicted on Federal Civil Rights Charges

WASHINGTON – The Justice Department announced today that a federal grand jury in Macon, Ga., returned a one-count indictment against Walter Young, 54, police chief of the Omega Police Department, for physically abusing a man in his custody.

The indictment alleges that, on March 24, 2011, Young, while acting in his capacity as the chief of police, assaulted “A.M.”, a pretrial detainee, thereby violating the civil rights of the detainee. The indictment further charges that A.M. suffered bodily injury as a result of Young’s use of excessive force.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

This case is being investigated by the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Forrest Christian and Trial Attorney Tona Boyd of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert McCullers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.