FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Former Hamtramck, Michigan, Police Officer Indicted for Excessive Use of Force, Obstruction of Justice, and Firearms Offenses
The Department of Justice today announced that a federal grand jury sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan returned a six-count indictment charging former Hamtramck, Michigan, police officer Ryan McInerney, 42, with civil rights violations, obstruction of justice, and firearms offenses in connection with two civilian arrests on July 22, 2014. McInerney is charged with violating two civilians’ civil rights when he assaulted them with a pistol without justification during separate arrests on the same night. The indictment further charges McInerney with two counts of using a firearm during and in relation to the civil rights offenses, as well as with writing false reports to cover up his excessive uses of force. 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.
The civil rights charges carry a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for each offense. The obstruction charges carry a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for each offense. The firearms charges carry a mandatory minimum, consecutive sentence of five to seven years in prison for each offense.
This case is being investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frances Lee Carlson of the Eastern District of Michigan and Trial Attorney Risa Berkower of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.