Civil Rights Conviction for Former Police Chief

A jury convicted the former chief of police for Omega, Georgia, of abusing a man in his custody

A federal jury in Valdosta, Ga., convicted defendant Walter Young, 54, the former chief of the Omega Police Department in Omega, Ga., for physically abusing a man in his custody, the Justice Department announced.

On March 24, 2011, Young, while acting in his capacity as the chief of police, assaulted Alfonso Moreno, a pretrial detainee, by repeatedly slapping and punching him in the head and face while he was fully restrained in a restraint chair, violating the civil rights of the detainee. The defendant struck the victim eight times, causing him to bleed. X-rays the next day showed the victim had a broken nose. The assault was captured on the jail's video surveillance system. The jury further found that Alfonso Moreno suffered bodily injury as a result of Young's use of excessive force.