Ex-officer's excessive force trial rescheduled for August

Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press
·2 min read
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NEW CASTLE, Ind. — The U.S. District Court trial of a former New Castle police officer charged with using excessive force, which had been set for April, has been rescheduled for August.

Aaron Jason Strong, 45, last July was indicted by a federal court grand jury on four charges — three counts of "deprivation (of civil rights) under color of law" and a single count of witness tampering.

He stands accused of beating an arrestee with an expandable baton, after that man had surrendered, in 2019.

In a related lawsuit, that man alleged Strong hit him more than 20 times with the baton in his head, jaw, arms and back.

In the excessive force case, Strong is also charged with shooting one arrestee in the back, at close range, with a bean bag shotgun and kicking another in the head, both in July 2017.

More:Indictment: Ex-New Castle officer kicked one arrestee, shot another with bean bag

The indictment alleges those actions were taken "without legal justification."

The witness tampering charge alleges Strong made false statements about the baton incident when interviewed by Indiana State Police.

The indictment said citizens have "the right to be free from a law enforcement officer's unreasonable amount of force during an arrest."

Strong's trial, to be held in Indianapolis, had most recently been set to begin on April 27. This week, however, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt granted a request by the former officer's attorney for a continuance.

The trial is now scheduled to begin on Aug. 14.

Strong resigned from the New Castle Police Department in December 2019.

He also has a co-defendant, Adam Guy, a former reserve deputy with the Henry County Sheriff's Department.

In an indictment returned last October, Guy is accused of making false statements to an Indiana State Police trooper investigating allegations against Strong in 2019.

Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ex-New Castle officer's excessive force trial reset for August.