Former investigator sentenced for civil rights violation

A former police investigator was sentenced to 22 months in prison for assaulting a handcuffed 24-year-old man, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Former Tallassee Police investigator Brandan Smirnoff, 27, pleaded guilty in April to one count of violating the 24-year-old’s civil rights by assaulting him while acting under the color of law.

Smirnoff encountered the victim, J.M., after a vehicle pursuit, according to the press release. After officers pursued J.M. for several minutes on a four-wheeler, J.M. stepped off the four-wheeler, lay face down on the ground and allowed several Tallassee police officers to handcuff him.

While J.M. was handcuffed and compliant, Smirnoff lifted him into the air and slammed him to the ground. Smirnoff then lifted the victim into the air and slammed him to the ground a second time, the release stated. Moments later, before Smirnoff placed the victim into a patrol car, Smirnoff slammed the victim’s head into the side of the vehicle. Throughout the assault, the victim was handcuffed, compliant and did not pose a threat.

“This defendant abused his power as a police investigator by assaulting a restrained person in his custody. Officers who willfully use excessive force not only violate the Constitution, they erode the public trust in law enforcement,” Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said.

U.S. Attorney Louis V. Franklin Sr. said a significant sentence of imprisonment was appropriate to punish Smirnoff and to deter others from community acts that “lead to distrust between law enforcement and the public.”

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Montgomery Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Denise Simpson of the Middle District of Alabama and Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer of the Civil Rights Division.