Former Tribal Police Officer Indicted for Using Excessive Force and Falsifying a Report

A former tribal police officer with the San Carlos Apache Police Department (SCAPD) was charged in an indictment today with two federal crimes arising out of his use of excessive force against a handcuffed arrestee and his falsification of another officer's report.

The indictment charges Jacob Christopher Slawson, 29, with deprivation of rights under color of law, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 242, and falsification of records, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1519. According to the indictment, after an arrestee was handcuffed and secured in the back of a police vehicle, Slawson punched the arrestee in the face, knocking him unconscious, and then yanked him out of the vehicle causing N.G. to split his head open on the concrete, resulting in bodily injury. The indictment further alleges that when Slawson learned he was under investigation for excessive force, he falsified the report of a fellow detective by adding false and misleading information to the report with the intent to obstruct the investigation. If convicted of both charges, Slawson faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.

Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.

This case was investigated by agents with the FBI's Tuscan Resident Agency and Phoenix Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gordon Davenport III for the District of Arizona and Special Litigation Counsel Christopher J. Perras of the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.