Former Michigan Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Pistol-Whipping Motorists
Indicted on six counts of civil rights violations, obstruction of justice, and firearms offenses, a former Michigan police officer pleaded guilty Friday to using excessive force against a civilian arrestee and violating the arrestee’s civil rights. According to the plea agreement, the officer admitted to pistol-whipping two separate motorists in the same night.
On June 22, 2014, Hamtramck Police Officer Ryan McInerney and another officer were in pursuit of a red Honda when McInerney hit the vehicle with his patrol car. Although the suspect placed both of his empty hands out the driver’s window in an act of surrender, McInerney fired at him before pistol-whipping the suspect and placing him under arrest according to a lawsuit filed in 2016.
On August 30, 2018, the Justice Department announced that a federal grand jury had returned a six-count indictment charging McInerney with civil rights violations, obstruction of justice, and firearms offenses in connection with two civilian arrests on July 22, 2014. As a result of the assaults, one of the civilians suffered broken facial bones and lacerations requiring stitches, and the other civilian suffered broken teeth, among other injuries.
