Former Philadelphia Correctional Officer Charged With Violating the Constitutional Rights of an Inmate

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero announced that Ivory S. Cousins, 35, of West Deptford, New Jersey, was arrested and charged by indictment with violating the constitutional rights of a prison inmate by ignoring his significant injuries from an assault by other inmates, pepper spraying him, helping another inmate to steal from him, and obstructing the investigation of what happened to him.

According to the indictment, the defendant was a correctional officer employed by the Philadelphia Department of Prisons in August 2019. While on duty at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, the indictment alleges that the defendant became aware that an inmate had been assaulted by other inmates and had serious injuries, but she was deliberately indifferent to his serious medical needs, failed to get him medical attention, and prevented a superior officer from discovering the inmate’s injuries. After her partner discovered the injured inmate and called for medical attention, but before assistance arrived to escort him to the medical unit, the indictment charges that the defendant subjected the injured inmate to excessive force, that is, she unreasonably pepper sprayed him. When the injured inmate had been escorted out of the area for medical attention, the indictment alleges that the defendant further violated the injured inmate’s constitutional rights by helping one of the inmates involved in his assault to steal his personal belongings from his cell. When she later completed a report about the incident, the indictment charges that the defendant provided false information about the injured inmate being aggressive, engaging in a fight, and using a weapon.

If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of up to 41 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, a $1 million fine, and a $400 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from the Philadelphia Department of Prisons, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Nancy E. Potts and Everett R. Witherell.

An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.