Cop hits woman’s head with gun as she tries running away, then lies to officers, feds say
A police officer hit a woman in the head with his gun as she tried running away during an arrest in Washington, D.C., then lied to other officers about how he injured her, according to federal prosecutors.
Former D.C. Special Police Officer Curtis Holloway used unreasonable force against the 33-year-old arrestee in October, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia said in a Sept. 17 news release.
Holloway, 65, is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, an indictment returned on Sept. 17 shows.
Information regarding his legal representation wasn’t immediately available.
The woman Holloway detained on Oct. 13 was accused of destroying property and assaulting a police officer, the indictment says.
When Holloway struck her with his weapon from behind while apprehending her, it was without legal justification, according to prosecutors.
After hitting her, the indictment says he lied to Metropolitan Police Department officers who responded to the scene, telling them he hit the woman with his baton, instead of his gun, as she was “combative.”
In D.C., there are more than 3,000 Metropolitan Police officers and nearly 8,000 special police officers who are stationed at stores, offices and university campuses, according to the DC Justice Lab.
As a special police officer, Holloway had the authority to arrest people if they committed a crime at the location where he was assigned, the indictment says.
Armed special police officers in D.C. are required to complete at least 96 hours of training, including basic firearms training, while Metropolitan Police officers undergo 28 weeks of training, the DC Justice Lab reports.
This story was originally published September 18, 2024 at 7:39 AM with the headline "Cop hits woman’s head with gun as she tries running away, then lies to officers, feds say."
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