A former west Kentucky police officer is receiving 42 months in federal prison for arresting a citizen who attempted to file a complaint against him. Then- Providence Police Department sergeant William Dukes Jr. threatened to arrest a man who was attempting to file a complaint against him for a earlier interaction.
When the victim called the local sheriff’s office and Kentucky State Police to file his complaint, Dukes drove to his home in the middle of the night, entered without a warrant and arrested him. Dukes also tased the victim, sprayed him in the face with pepper spray, struck him repeatedly with a police baton and punched him in the face-- breaking his nose.
Assistant United State Attorney Seth Hancock of the Western District of Kentucky and Trial Attorney Zachary Dembo of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division prosecuted the case. Duke will also receive to three years supervision after his release from jail.
