Ex-officer shown kicking suspect gets a year in prison

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former Ohio police officer has been sentenced to a year in prison after a cellphone video showed him kicking a handcuffed suspect in the head.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Ohio’s southern district says former Franklin Township officer Robert Wells was sentenced Wednesday after pleading guilty in December to violating the suspect’s rights and obstructing the investigation.

His attorney, Mark Collins, says Wells is embarrassed but took responsibility for the act and received a fair sentence.

Wells was a part-time officer in the suburban Columbus township when authorities said a cellphone video from a May 1, 2018, vehicle pursuit showed him kicking the 18-year-old male suspect while the handcuffed teen was lying on the ground.

Wells, of Pataskala, was indicted by a federal grand jury in September.