Former DEA Task Force Officer Sentenced To Prison For Unlawfully Assaulting Individual During Arrest

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that DUSTIN GENCO, a former investigator with the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and Task Force Officer with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), was sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge James L. Cott to three months in prison for depriving an individual (the “Victim”) of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force.  On October 20, 2022, GENCO assaulted the Victim while the Victim was restrained in handcuffs.  GENCO pled guilty on August 2, 2023, before Judge Cott to deprivation of rights under color of law. 

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Today, former DEA Task Force Officer Dustin Genco was sentenced to prison for depriving a restrained individual of his constitutional right to be free from excessive force.  Genco abused his authority as a law enforcement officer two-fold: First, he broke a bright-line rule when he kicked in the chest a handcuffed and restrained man.  Then, he lied repeatedly to his supervisor about his conduct and falsified an official report about the arrest.  When an officer acts outside the law, he must be held to account in order to protect the rule of law and the public trust in the countless law-abiding officers and agents who put their own safety on the line every day.  I commend the hard work of the career prosecutors of my Office and our law enforcement partners at the DOJ Office of the Inspector General for their commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring justice in this case.”

According to public documents and statements made in court:

On or about October 20, 2022, GENCO was employed as a Task Force Officer with the DEA.  GENCO was assigned to assist with the arrest of the Victim.  During the arrest, GENCO assaulted the Victim by forcefully kicking the Victim in the chest and stomach area while the Victim was restrained in handcuffs, resulting in injury to the Victim.  After the assault, GENCO intentionally misled a federal law enforcement agent about the assault, claiming that the Victim had continued to resist arrest after he was handcuffed.  GENCO also failed to truthfully disclose in an official report that he had kicked the Victim in the chest and stomach area while the Victim was restrained in handcuffs. 

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In addition to the prison term, DUSTIN GENCO, 51, of Seaford, New York, was sentenced to one year of supervised release and a $10,000 fine.  The judgment also included GENCO’s agreement to permanently cease and refrain from seeking or obtaining law enforcement employment on behalf of any federal, state, or local entity.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mitzi Steiner is in charge of the prosecution.