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Press Release

Former Muncie Police Officer Pleads Guilty to Assaulting an Arrestee and Falsifying a Report to Cover up the Offense

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS – Jeremy Gibson, 31, a former officer with the Muncie Police Department, pleaded guilty today to assaulting an arrestee in violation of his civil rights, and to an obstruction of justice offense for writing a false report to cover up the incident.

According to court documents and statements made during the change of plea hearing, on May 13, 2019, Officer Gibson initiated a traffic stop of a car because one of the car’s headlights was out. When the driver stepped out of the car, Gibson attempted to physically take him to the ground, and punched him several times with a closed fist in the process. As other officers attempted to secure the driver, Gibson used his knee to strike the driver in right side of the driver’s head, causing the driver’s head to swing to the side, at which point another officer delivered another knee strike to the opposite side of the driver’s head. Shortly afterwards, Officer Gibson authored a false report about the incident.

Gibson is one of four Muncie police officers who – along with Officer Chase Winkle, Officer Corey Posey and Sergeant Joseph Krejsa – were charged in April 2021 in a 17-count superseding indictment for their roles in using excessive force against arrestees and attempting to cover up the misconduct. The other three officers are scheduled to stand trial in August 2022. A fifth Muncie police officer, former Officer Dalton Kurtz, pleaded guilty on August 4, 2021, to misprision of felony for concealing and failing to report inappropriate use of force by Officer Winkle during a separate incident.

Gibson faces up to 30 years in prison and will be sentenced by Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt at a later date. His actual sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge and sentences are typically less than the maximum penalties.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.

U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton made the announcement.

U.S. Attorney Myers and A.A.G. Clark thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Blackett, and Trial Attorneys Katherine DeVar and Mary Hahn of the Civil Rights Division for their work prosecuting the case.

Updated May 13, 2022

Topics
Civil Rights
Public Corruption