Photos: YouTube\NJToday
Former Logan Police Department Officer Everett Maynard, 45, was sentenced to nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for violating an arrestee’s civil rights by using excessive force against him.
On Nov. 17, 2021, a federal jury convicted Maynard of using excessive force against an arrestee while Maynard was a police officer with the Logan Police Department in West Virginia. At trial, the jury heard evidence that Maynard assaulted the victim in the bathroom of the Logan Police Department before dragging him into an adjoining room, hauling him across the room, and ramming his head against a doorframe.
The assault initially rendered the victim unconscious and left him with a broken shoulder, a broken nose, and a cut to his head that required staples to close. While the defendant assaulted the victim, the defendant berated the victim for “making demands” of him by, among other things, asking to go to the bathroom.
After the assault left the victim unconscious in a pool of his own blood, the defendant bragged about his use of force.
“This defendant’s abuse of law enforcement authority inside a police station was egregious and caused serious injuries,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Police misconduct undermines community trust in law enforcement, and impedes effective policing. This sentence confirms that law enforcement officers who use excessive force against arrestees will be held accountable.”
“The outstanding work of the FBI, the West Virginia State Police, and the prosecution team ensured that justice was served in this case,” said U.S. Attorney Will Thompson of the Southern District of West Virginia. “When Mr. Maynard abused his position of authority to violate the civil rights of an arrestee, he betrayed the public’s trust and dishonored the policing profession. We will continue to work with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and our law enforcement partners to protect the civil rights of all citizens and hold officers accountable for criminal misconduct.”
“The actions of Mr. Maynard are disturbing and violate the trust placed in him by the community,” said Special Agent in Charge Mike Nordwall of the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office. “Today’s sentencing is the result of the FBI’s dedication to Civil Rights by holding people accountable when they abuse their authority and violate the constitutional rights of those they swore to protect. No one is above the law.
Editor’s Note: Former officer Maynard was convicted for the actions he took in the incident related to two of the above (including him giving the middle finger) photos. The above middle photo (which reads “justice for Romero Johnson”) is from a separate incident in which he apparently attacked a 16-year-old Black boy, in 2017. Because of secrecy in the former case, from 2020, the name of the individual abused by officer Maynard is only known as “RW.”
