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Press Release

Police Officer in Fulton, New York, Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Man in His Custody

For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs

Joseph Arigo, 47, a sergeant with the Fulton Police Department in Fulton, New York, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law for beating a handcuffed man inside the Fulton police station.      

According to court documents filed in connection with his guilty plea, Arigo was sitting at the sergeant’s desk on June 28, 2014, when a handcuffed man, G.B., was brought into the police station.  G.B. was yelling, but was not physically threatening any officers or himself.  Arigo pulled the video camera out of the wall to stop it from recording, walked into the room where G.B. was being held, shoved his head into the bench, and punched him in the head multiple times.  G.B. suffered cuts and bruising, lost consciousness, and required seven stitches. After the incident, Arigo lied to his supervisors as well as in two official reports in an attempt to conceal his actions.

Sentencing is set for Jan. 23, 2015, and Arigo faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. 

This case was investigated by the Syracuse Resident Agency of the Albany Division of the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Dana Mulhauser of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

Updated August 21, 2015

Press Release Number: 14-1031