FORMER TEXAS POLICE OFFICER CONVICTED ON CIVIL RIGHTS CHARGES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Justice Department today announced that a federal jury in Texas convicted former Crystal City Police Department Officer Jimmy Aguilar on federal civil rights charges for assaulting a man during the course of an arrest and then attempting to cover up his actions.

On August 7, 2001 Aguilar repeatedly assaulted a handcuffed man after he initially resisted arrest. Aguilar knee-dropped onto the victim’s face, choked him twice, and forced the barrel of his handgun into the victim’s mouth while threatening to kill him. As a result of the beating, the victim suffered lacerations to the inside of his mouth and severe facial injuries that required emergency surgery. The jury also found that Aguilar attempted to cover up his conduct by providing a false statement to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and encouraging other officers to provide false statements.

Aguilar faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. Sentencing will take place on December 13, 2004.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and jointly prosecuted by attorneys from the Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

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