Former Bryan County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Pleads Guilty to Using Taser to Shock Restrained Detainee

WASHINGTON—The Justice Department announced today that former Bryan County (Oklahoma) Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Kevin Bennett Holt, 48, from Achille, Oklahoma, pleaded guilty in federal court to using a Taser to assault a detainee inside of the Bryan County Jail in Durant, Oklahoma, thereby depriving the detainee of his civil rights.

During the plea hearing and in the plea documents, Holt admitted that he intentionally used unreasonable force on a detainee when he electronically shocked the detainee by using a Taser device while the detainee was strapped into a restraint chair. The defendant also admitted that his unlawful Taser deployment injured the victim.

“Today the defendant was held accountable for abusing his authority and assaulting the victim,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. “Such conduct cannot be tolerated in a civilized society.”

When Holt is sentenced, he faces a maximum penalty of up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a maximum fine of $250,000 for this crime.

This case was investigated by the FBI. The case was prosecuted by Trial Attorney Nicole Lee Ndumele of the Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Dean Burris from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.