Hyattsville officer indicted on charges of perjury, excessive force on suspect

[MrScorpio]

By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 23, 2010

A Prince George's County grand jury indicted a Hyattsville police officer Thursday on charges of kicking a handcuffed man in the face.

The grand jury handed up an indictment for Trevor Hodges, 28, on charges of second-degree assault and perjury, State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said at a news conference. The perjury charge stems from a charging document that Hodges swore out against his alleged victim. Hodges is accused of lying about the incident in the document, which police swear out under oath.

Hodges is accused of kicking Jonathan A. Winfield, 20, in the face while Winfield was on the ground, handcuffed. Winfield had allegedly been behaving in a disorderly fashion, refusing to leave a liquor store parking lot in the 2900 block of Hamilton Street, police said.

An off-duty officer who was at the scene called for backup, and a Hyattsville police sergeant arrived. Winfield was under control for a while, but when Hodges arrived, the two men began arguing, according to a law enforcement source who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Police decided to arrest Winfield for disorderly conduct. He struggled and tried to run; officers put Winfield on the ground, stomach-down. During the fracas, Winfield's mouth was cut, and he began bleeding, the source said.

Winfield began to spit blood on the ground and some of it got on Hodge's boot, the source said. Hodges then allegedly kicked Winfield in the mouth.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/22/AR2010072204219.html