Former Ohio police officer gets year in prison for kicking suspect in head

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A former police officer will spend a year in prison after he pleaded guilty to charges in connection with kicking a teen suspect who was lying handcuffed on the ground.

Robert Wells, 49, of Pataskala, Ohio, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Ohio. Wells was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Wells was a police officer for Franklin Township. On May 1, 2018, cellphone video showed Wells kick a teen suspect in the head, even though the teen was in handcuffs and laying on the ground.

Prosecutors say Wells made false and misleading statements in his report on the arrest in order to cover up the excessive force.

Wells pleaded guilty in December. He resigned from the department one week after the video showing the incident went viral.

According to WOSU, in 2002 Wells lost his job as a police officer in Pataskala after cellphone video showed him and another officer kicking an 18-year-old suspect during an arrest. Wells was convicted of assault, WOSU reports.

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