Former Maryland Police Officer Sentenced for Excessive Force Conviction

Former Fairmont Heights, Maryland, Police Officer Philip Dupree was sentenced today following his conviction at trial on June 17, 2024. Dupree was sentenced to six years and two months in prison.

During the weeklong jury trial, the evidence established that Dupree was on duty as a Fairmont Heights Police Officer on Aug. 4, 2019, when he conducted a traffic stop in the District of Columbia. After detaining a man, Officer Dupree pepper sprayed the man while he was handcuffed and seated in Dupree’s police car. The jury found that Dupree’s use of force constituted excessive force by a law enforcement officer.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Sanjay Patel of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Howland for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case.