Former Tennessee Police Officer Sentenced For Assaulting An Arrestee

Jackson, TN – Christopher Eugene Reynolds, 39, a former police officer of the Selmer, Tenn., Police Department, was sentenced yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge J. Daniel Breen to serve one year and one day in prison following his conviction for violating the civil rights of an arrestee, announced United States Attorney Edward L. Stanton III.

Reynolds pleaded guilty on November 6, 2013. Judge Breen also sentenced Reynolds to a period of two years supervised release and a $100 special assessment. Reynolds admitted that on April 28, 2011, while using his authority as a SPD officer, he slammed a handcuffed arrestee to the floor of the McNairy Regional Hospital and struck him once in the face. According to information presented in court, Reynolds acknowledged that this assault was unreasonable, did not serve a legitimate law enforcement purpose and was not made by accident, mistake or inadvertence.

“Law enforcement officers must abide by and adhere to the same laws they take an oath to enforce,” said U.S. Attorney Stanton. “Instead of serving and protecting the public, this officer used physical force to violate the civil rights of an individual and will now serve prison time, vividly illustrating that no one is above the law.”

This case was investigated by FBI Special Agent Christopher Miller with the assistance of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ryan J. Murguía for the Civil Rights Division and Special Litigation Counsel Gerard V. Hogan, with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor L. Ivy for the Western District of Tennessee.