Former Elkhart officer to spend time in prison for 2018 assault of handcuffed man
ELKHART, Ind. (WISH) — A former Elkhart Police Department officer was sentenced Thursday to serve time in prison for his role in beating a handcuffed man in 2018.
Joshua Titus, 34, was sentenced to serve one year and one day in federal prison, followed by one year on supervised release. Media reports Titus pleaded guilty in March to a federal charge of deprivation of civil rights and aiding and abetting.
Titus’s co-defendant, former Elkhart Police Officer Cory Newland, 40, was sentenced in December to 15 months in prison for his role in the same offense, according to the United States Department of Justice on Thursday.
According to court documents, on Jan. 12, 2018, Newland assisted in the arrest of a man and transported him to the booking area at the police department. Once at the police department, the man, identified by the initials M.L., was seated in a chair with his hands handcuffed behind his back, with both hands behind the chair.
M.L. spat in the direction of Newland while he was seated in the chair. Newland and Titus began punching M.L. in the face, causing him to fall backward onto the concrete floor. The officers then began to hunch over M.L. and punched him 10 more times in the face and body.
Newland and Titus acknowledged that at the time of the assault, they knew their use of force on M.L. was unjustified and unlawful under the circumstances, says the USDOJ.
Statements
“When officers abuse their power by assaulting handcuffed and defenseless arrestees, it erodes the public trust and tarnishes the reputation police officers everywhere. No one is above the law, and the Justice Department will continue to ensure that officers who violate the rights of individuals in their custody are held accountable.”
Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division
“To have effective law enforcement, the public must be confident that the officers will perform their duties consistently, within the boundaries of the constitution and federal law. Instead of honoring their duties by protecting and serving the public, these defendants engaged in criminal behavior. When this happens, my office will fulfill our duties by vigorously prosecuting those officers.”
U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana
“The majority of law enforcement officers are well trained professionals who uphold their oath to serve and protect and do so with the utmost integrity. But the few who violate that oath and betray public trust will be held accountable. There is no acceptable level of abuse of power and the FBI will vigorously investigate those officers who violate that oath.”
Acting Special Agent in Charge Robert “Alex” Middleton of the FBI Indianapolis Field Office