State Trooper Charged in Civil Rights Case
| U.S. Attorney’s Office August 19, 2013 |
PHILADELPHIA—Pennsylvania State Trooper Kelly Cruz, 43, of Oxford, Pennsylvania, was charged in a one-count indictment (an indictment/information/criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.) with deprivation of civil rights, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
The indictment alleges that on August 9, 2009, Cruz, while working as a state trooper, kicked Z.B. in the back of the head as Z.B. was lying face-down on the floor in handcuffs. As a result of the kick, Z.B. suffered bodily injury that required surgery to repair his teeth.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 10 years in prison.
The case was investigated by the FBI-Newtown Square Office and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys L.C. Wright and Maureen McCartney.