Former Kentucky Sheriff’s Deputy sentenced for abusing arrestees

BOYLE COUNTY, KY — A former Kentucky Sheriff’s Deputy was sentenced to 110 months in prison for violating the constitutional rights of multiple people he arrested during his tenure as a law enforcement officer.

Former Boyle County Sheriff’s Deputy Tanner M. Abbott was convicted by a federal jury in March of five felonies and one misdemeanor related to using excessive force against four arrestees, performing an illegal search, and writing and conspiring to write false police reports to cover up his abuse.

“This defendant habitually and routinely abused his authority and used his badge to shield himself from accountability for years,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence should send a loud message that such abuses by law enforcement will not be tolerated. The Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to hold law enforcement accountable when they violate the civil and constitutional rights of people in their country.”

“Instead of protecting and serving the community, the defendant was physically abusing people — even bragging about the injuries he caused,” said U.S. Attorney Carlton S. Shier IV for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “That is not law enforcement; that is brazen criminal conduct. The community deserved better. Fortunately, he now has a criminal sentence that he deserves.”

At the sentencing hearing, the government presented evidence the crimes for which Abbott was convicted were part of a larger pattern of abuse of authority spanning his career. An investigator testified that, during its two-year investigation of numerous allegations against Abbot, the FBI discovered evidence that Abbot frequently used excessive force against suspects. This evidence included test messages recovered from his work-issued cell phone in which Abbott bragged, sometimes in graphic and vulgar terms about causing injuries to people he had arrested. The government also presented cellphone evidence showing that Abbott sometimes took photographs of injuries he had caused and sent the pictures to friends and acquaintances, but never included or submitted them in official police documents. Two additional witnesses testified they had been physically abused by Abbot while being arrested.

The court also found that Abbott obstructed justice during his trial by testifying falsely in his defense.