United States v. Smith, No. 14-3721 (7th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CasePutnam County, Indiana police officer Smith, with others, pursued Warren, for whom an arrest warrant was outstanding. The police were able to box in Warren's truck with their cars. Warren got out of the cab, jumped onto the truck’s bed, and lay down on his back. Officers followed, picked him up, and handed him to officers on the ground. All the officers except Smith testified that they had Warren under control when Smith punched him in the face with a closed fist. Warren bled extensively and was taken in an ambulance to a hospital. Smith said “I guarantee I broke that mother fucker’s nose.” Months later Smith and others were summoned to a violent domestic dispute. Smith handcuffed the male suspect, Land, and led him toward his patrol car, then raised Land in the air, dropped him, and drove his (Smith’s) knee into Land’s back, causing him to defecate. Later, Smith bragged that he had done the same thing before. Convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. 242 by depriving two persons of their constitutional right not to be subjected to the intentional use of unreasonable and excessive force, Smith was sentenced to 14 months in prison. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the conviction, but vacated the sentence, questioning whether the judge’s review provided any basis for thinking 14 months a proper sentence for Smith, given a guidelines range of 33-41 months.
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