Ex-officer gets 3 years for arresting man who reported him

OWENSBORO, Ky. – A former Kentucky police officer has been sentenced to roughly three years in prison for arresting a man who complained about him.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office says in a release that former Providence police Sgt. William Dukes Jr. was sentenced after he was convicted this summer of violating the civil rights of the man. Evidence presented at trial showed that Dukes was angered over the complaint and drove to the man’s house at 1 a.m.

Evidence says Dukes then shocked the man with a stun gun, sprayed him with pepper spray and punched him in the face.

A jury in July found that Dukes arrested the man while knowing he didn’t have probable cause to believe the man had committed any crime.