A former corrections officer at the District of Columbia's Department of Corrections has been sentenced to 42 months in prison for assaulting a handcuffed inmate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Justice. Marcus Bias, aged 28, earlier pled guilty to a count of deprivation of rights under color of law on March 29, 2024, affirming that his actions violated the civil rights of the detainee in his charge. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson imposed two years of supervised release on Bias.
"The defendant had a duty to protect the constitutional rights of anyone who was in his care and custody," U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves stated, emphasizing the responsibility that Bias shirked. The attack, which occurred on June 12, 2019, involved Bias ramming the detainee's head into a metal doorframe, resulting in severe injuries that required hospitalization. At the time of the assault, the detainee identified only as J.W., was unrestrained and surrounded by five other officers, and the effects of O.C. spray had rendered him docile, Justice Department officials said.
Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke emphasized the department's commitment to upholding civil rights, denouncing Bias's act of violence against a handcuffed person posing no threat. Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI's Washington Field Office commended the collaborative effort to bring Bias to justice, as the FBI views the protection of civil rights with utmost gravity.
The case came to light following an internal review of DOC surveillance footage, which contradicted Bias's initial claim that J.W. had "pull[ed] away" and "fell" into the doorframe. After the review, Bias's statement, and the video evidence were in stark contrast, he was fired and escorted from the facility, as per the U.S. Department of Justice. The FBI Washington Field Office conducted the investigation leading to the conviction, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Truscott for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Anna Gotfryd of the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section handling the prosecution.
