ATLANTA — A former federal corrections officer working at the U.S. Penitentiary in Atlanta was indicted on federal charges of using excessive force and writing a false incident report to justify it.
The announcement comes from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, saying that Justin Newkirk had allegedly abused an inmate, then wrote a “detailed false report” to allegedly cover it up.
Newkirk, a 35-year-old resident of Locust Grove, was arraigned on June 13 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
According to U.S. Attorney Ryank K. Buchanan, Newkirk’s actions demand a response.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Woman found dead in DeKalb County driveway. Neighbors say she was a witness in a murder
- Alleged blood gang leader pleads guilty to distributing fentanyl from China throughout Georgia
- Police chief calls images of white people using picture of Black man for target practice a ‘mistake’
“Correctional officers perform a particularly challenging and critical job in maintaining order and protecting inmates in our nation’s prisons and jails,” Buchanan said in a statement. “But this officer’s alleged misconduct of abusing an inmate and then writing a detailed false report to conceal the crime demands accountability.”
The charges against Newkirk stem from an incident in March 2022, when the officer allegedly sprayed an inmate with pepper spray repeatedly, for no legal reason.
He’s then accused of writing a report claiming it was necessary because the inmate had lunged at him with a closed fist and showed “imminent signs of violence,” according to a statement from the USAO.
Newkirk was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 13, according to the USAO.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
OTHER NEWS:
©2022 Cox Media Group
