LOS ANGELES (AP) - A Department of Homeland Security officer was charged Thursday in Los Angeles federal court with kicking a handcuffed man in the head last year outside a Social Security Administration office.
Jason Michael Rouswell, 46, of Los Angeles was indicted on a charge of violating the civil rights of a man on Oct. 20 in Pomona. Rouswell is an inspector with the Federal Protective Service that guards U.S. facilities.
Prosecutors offered no details of the incident, but video of the incident obtained by KCBS-TV (https://cbsloc.al/2dFdkrE) shows a beefy looking officer in uniform kick a man lying face down on a street with his hands cuffed behind his back. The indictment says the kick injured the man.
The man, identified in the indictment only as C.S., was injured by the kick, according to the indictment.
Rouswell didn’t immediately respond to a message sent to a work email address in his name. He didn’t have a lawyer, but agreed to surrender Monday, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Rouswell could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted.
Messages left after-hours for Department of Homeland Security spokespeople seeking comment on the incident or Rouswell’s employment status were not immediately returned.
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