The US Justice Department announced on Thursday that a federal grand jury indicted a former Louisiana State Police officer for allegedly using excessive force with a flashlight against a Black motorist. Jacob Brown, 31, has been charged with a single count of deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly beating Aaron Larry Bowman during a traffic stop on May 30, 2019. The victim in the case was identified as AB by the Justice Department, but Bowman’s attorney confirmed the victim was Bowman according to CNN News.
Ignorance Of The Law, Excuses No One
The first criminal case to emerge from federal investigations into trooper beatings of at least three Black men. A grand jury indicted Jacob Brown on Thursday for the 2019 beating that resulted from a traffic stop that left Aaron Larry Bowman with a broken jaw, broken ribs, and a gash on his head according to NPR.Org.News.
According to federal prosecutors, Brown was charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. Scott Wolleson, Brown’s attorney who declined to comment that Brown’s has a sigh of relief as the Donecia Banks – Miley, Brownman’s attorney said. Brown’s arrest comes as federal prosecutors investigate other troopers who punched, stunned, and dragged another Black motorist, Ronald Greene before he died in their custody on a rural roadside. Greene’s death in 2019 is being investigated.
CNN’s Ryan Young reports on a newly released body camera video of a Black man, Aaron Larry Bowman, being arrested and beaten during a traffic stop in Louisiana in 2019.
Donecia Banks-Miley, Brownman’s attorney told the Associated Press that they trying to stay hopeful and believe in the justice system. Additionally, Brownman’s attorney said Aaron is overjoyed and all he wants is full of justice. Brown’s arrest comes as federal prosecutors investigate other troopers who punched, stunned, and dragged another black motorist, Ronald Greene before he died in their custody on a rural roadside.
The investigation into Greene’s death in 2019 has expanded to look into whether police brass obstructed justice in order to protect the troopers who beat the black motorist after a high-speed chase. The Associated Press obtained and published body camera video of both beatings, which occurred less than three weeks apart and 20 miles apart and they are among a dozen cases over the last decade in which an AP investigation discovered troopers or their superiors, ignored or concealed evidence of beatings, deflected blame, and hampered efforts to root out misconduct.
