Recorded on video repeatedly tasing and striking an arrestee who was not fighting back, a former Louisiana police officer was recently charged with deprivation of civil rights. In August 2019, the officer had been arrested on a state charge of malfeasance in office for the same incident.
On August 5, 2019, a bystander recorded a cellphone video of Shreveport Police Corporal Dylan Hudson kicking Markeil Tyson in the face while two other officers pinned Tyson to the ground. Tyson did not appear to fight back as Cpl. Hudson fired his Taser point-blank against the back of Tyson’s head and neck.
According to court documents, Hudson used unreasonable force against Tyson by “punching him in the face and head, kneeing him in the stomach, tasing him in the neck and head, pistol-whipping him in the head, slamming his head into the ground, and kicking him in the face. The indictment further alleges that Hudson’s assault caused bodily injury to the arrestee, and that the assault involved the use of dangerous weapons (a Taser, a pistol, and a shod foot).”
Tyson was reportedly arrested on charges of resisting an officer, urinating in public, and criminal trespass. The charges against Tyson were later dropped.
Initially placed on administrative leave, Hudson was later fired from the Shreveport Police Department. In August 2019, Hudson was arrested on a state charge of malfeasance in office in connection with the same case. He has pleaded not guilty in the state case, which is still pending in the Caddo District Court.
On Thursday, the Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Hudson with willfully depriving an individual of his right to be free from the use of unreasonable force during an arrest.
If convicted, Hudson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
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