SHREVEPORT, La. (AP) - A former Homer police officer has been sentenced to six months in prison for violating the civil rights of a woman whom he admitted shoving and hitting without provocation and for lying about the incident to the FBI.
U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley, in a news release Thursday, said 66-year-old Willie Knowles also was sentenced Wednesday to three years of supervised released and ordered to pay a $1,500 fine.
The Justice Department says Knowles admitted initiating the October 2012 altercation while he was on duty. The woman wasn’t under arrest when Knowles pushed her down and hit her face.
Prosecutors say Knowles also admitted falsely telling FBI agents that the woman started the incident by grabbing him and jumping on his back and falsely claimed he never hit her.
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