Three Former Supervisory Correctional Officers Charged with Beating Handcuffed and Shackled Inmate at Angola State Prison

Officers Falsified Reports and Tampered with Witnesses to Cover Up Beating

Three former supervisory correctional officers at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, Louisiana, were indicted today for beating a handcuffed and shackled inmate, and conspiring to cover up their misconduct by falsifying official records, committing perjury and tampering with witnesses as well as physical evidence.

According to the indictment, former Major Daniel Davis, 40, of Loranger, Louisiana; former Captain John Sanders, 31, of Marksville, Louisiana; and former Captain James Savoy, 38, of Marksville, beat an inmate, who suffered bodily injury as a result.  The defendants then created a false cover story, asserting that they had used reasonable force to get the inmate under control after he had gotten out of his cell and fought with officers.  To corroborate that false cover story, members of the conspiracy instructed subordinates to clean up the inmate’s blood before internal investigators could document it, falsified official prison reports and records, ordered subordinates to lie to internal affairs investigators and lied under oath in a federal civil proceeding arising out of the incident.

A fourth former supervisory correctional officer, Captain Scotty Kennedy, 48, of Beebe, Arkansas, pleaded guilty on Tuesday for his role in the incident.

An indictment is merely an allegation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This case is being investigated by the FBI’s Baton Rouge Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frederick A. Menner Jr. of the Middle District of Louisiana and Trial Attorney Christopher J. Perras of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.