THE THIN BLUE LINE
An Indianapolis police sergeant who was seen in body camera footage kicking a handcuffed man in the face has pleaded guilty to a felony in federal court.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Eric Huxley, who is currently suspended from the department, appeared in person at the federal courthouse in downtown Indianapolis on Monday to formalize a guilty plea to the single charge in his indictment: deprivation of rights under color of law.
Body camera footage of the Sept. 24, 2021, arrest released by the department shows a man named Jermaine Vaughn falling on his back near the steps at Monument Circle during his interaction with Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers. Moments later, Huxley’s foot is seen stomping down on Vaughn’s face.
Huxley “knew that there was no legitimate law enforcement reason to use hard strikes, including foot strikes, against the head or face of a person who is handcuffed, under effective control by other officers, and physically unable to harm others,” his plea agreement states.
Former officer Huxley still faces two Level 6 felonies of battery and official misconduct. He also has a lawsuit against him.
Horrified judge sends Indianapolis cop to prison for stomping defenseless man’s face
An Indianapolis police officer was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison Friday after pleading guilty to stomping a handcuffed man in the face during a 2021 arrest in an act that a judge said “shocked the conscience.” Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Sgt. Eric Huxley will also be on home detention the first six months after he leaves prison, Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson ruled, stopping short of the sentence requested by prosecutors. Magnus-Stinson cited Huxley’s lack of criminal history, his family’s needs and his acceptance of responsibility for what he did.
