Two Former LMPD Officers Sentenced Today for Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights and One Also Sentenced for Cyberstalking Conspiracy

Louisville, KY – Two former Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD) officers charged with conspiring to violate the civil rights of Louisville pedestrians through the arbitrary use of force were sentenced today. One of them was also sentenced for engaging in a cyberstalking conspiracy to hack computer applications for compromising photographs and videos of female victims and then using those photographs to extort additional compromising material from the victims.

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the Louisville Field Office made the announcement. 

Bryan Andrew Wilson, 36, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for his roles in the civil rights and cyberstalking conspiracies. He was also sentenced to 3 years of supervision after his release from prison and was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service. Wilson was also ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined later. Curt Flynn, 41, was sentenced to 3 months in prison for his role in the civil rights conspiracy. He was also sentenced to 3 years of supervision after his release from prison and was ordered to complete 120 hours of community service.

According to court documents and the sentencing hearing today, from at least August 2018 through September 2019, and while working as detectives with the LMPD Ninth Mobile Division, Wilson and Flynn engaged in a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of numerous civilians in Louisville through oppression and intimidation. Wilson, Flynn, and others, while working in the LMPD Ninth Mobile Division, conspired together to assault and attempt to assault civilians by engaging in a conspiracy to throw drinks, including the containers, at unwitting civilians throughout the area in which the Ninth Mobile Division operated. While on duty, dressed in clothing identifying them as LMPD officers, and driving unmarked LMPD vehicles, Wilson, Flynn, and others, would obtain large beverages and drive through the geographic area of the Ninth Mobile Division identifying civilian targets on the sidewalk or near the street. At various points, after identifying a target, Wilson or Flynn would announce on the police radio words to the effect of, “someone was thirsty” or “thirsty fam.” Wilson, Flynn, or another driver of the unmarked vehicle would slow down, drive closer to the curb, and Wilson or Flynn would throw the beverage, including the container and/or its contents, at the civilian target. The driver of the unmarked LMPD vehicle would then accelerate the car and flee the scene.

On many occasions, civilians were hit with beverages thrown by Wilson or Flynn. On at least one occasion, a civilian, John Doe, was knocked to the ground from the impact of being hit with the beverage and its container. At times, Wilson and Flynn recorded and instructed others to record their actions using their cell phones. Wilson and Flynn subsequently displayed these recordings to other members of the Ninth Mobile Division, both by displaying them to other LMPD officers in person and by sending them to others via text message.

Wilson was also sentenced today in a separate case for his criminal conduct in engaging in a conspiracy to commit cyberstalking. According to court documents in Wilson’s second case, between September and October 2020, Wilson conspired with others to use an electronic communication service to stalk and extort young women online. As part of the conspiracy, Wilson, in some instances using his access to law enforcement databases to facilitate the crime, identified computer applications belonging to women, hacked those computer applications, and stole compromising photographs, videos, and other information belonging to the women. Wilson then contacted the women via text messages, threatened to publish the stolen compromising photographs and videos to their family, friends, and co-workers unless they provided him with additional compromising material, and, in some instances, did publish the compromising material. Wilson also posted his victims’ compromising photographs and videos anonymously online and bragged about his exploitation of the victims. Throughout the course of the cyberstalking conspiracy, evidence revealed that Wilson and his co-conspirators hacked over two-dozen victim accounts and that Wilson directly contacted eight of those victims.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Louisville Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weiser and Stephanie Zimdahl prosecuted the cases.

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