May 7, 2015

Ansonia Man Who Made False Report of Police Brutality to the FBI is Sentenced

EDWARD MINERLY, 52, of Ansonia, was sentenced today by Senior U.S. District Judge Alfred V. Covello in Hartford to eight months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for making a false report of police brutality to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 18, 2013, officers with the Derby Police Department arrested MINERLY on an outstanding probation violation warrant. On May 31, 2013, MINERLY called the New Haven FBI and spoke with an FBI special agent. In the call, MINERLY alleged that Derby Police officers had recently arrested him for a probation violation and, upon placing him in a holding cell, commenced taunting him, subjecting him to flashing lights and tipping him backwards out of his wheelchair. MINERLY also alleged that Derby Police officers kicked him in the head, arms and upper body.

On June 6, 2013, an FBI special agent interviewed MINERLY in person at a Bridgeport hospital where MINERLY had been admitted. MINERLY again made allegations similar to those made on May 31, 2013, namely, that Derby Police officers had arrested him and, after placing him in a holding cell, picked him out of his wheelchair, threw him into a wall, flashed the lights on and off, and kicked him in the head and beat him.

MINERLY pleaded guilty on November 18, 2014, admitting that the statements he made to the FBI alleging physical abuse by members of the Derby Police Department after his probation violation arrest were false.

“In making a false report of police brutality, this defendant sought to exploit the Justice Department’s steadfast commitment to investigate and prosecute civil rights abuses by members of law enforcement,” stated U.S. Attorney Deirdre M. Daly. “In addition to taxing federal law enforcement resources, these false reports can irreparably damage the reputation of the wrongly accused police department and its officers. The prison term imposed today is an appropriate penalty for this conduct.”

“Any and all allegations of civil rights violations are taken very seriously by the FBI, stated FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin James Kline. “We will seek prosecution of anyone who deliberately provides false information that diverts agents and resources from other important matters.”

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Henry K. Kopel and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Gustafson.