A former West Virginia law enforcement officer will spend almost a decade in prison for using excessive force against an arrestee. 

According to a March 17 news release from the U.S. Department of Justice, 45-year-old Everett Maynard of Logan, W.V., was conducting an arrest in November 2021 when he reportedly assaulted the man, dragged him across the police station and slammed his head into a door frame after the man reportedly issued several requests, one of which was about using the restroom. 

“This defendant’s abuse of law enforcement authority inside a police station was egregious and caused serious injuries,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said. “Police misconduct undermines community trust in law enforcement and impedes effective policing. This sentence confirms that law enforcement officers who use excessive force against arrestees will be held accountable.”

Maynard's excessive force rendered the arrestee unconscious and reportedly caused a broken nose, broken shoulder and laceration to the head that required staples. Maynard reportedly bragged about the event after leaving the victim "unconscious in a pool of his own blood."

“The outstanding work of the FBI, the West Virginia State Police and the prosecution team ensured that justice was served in this case,” U.S. Attorney Will Thompson of West Virginia's Southern District said. “When Mr. Maynard abused his position of authority to violate the civil rights of an arrestee, he betrayed the public’s trust and dishonored the policing profession. We will continue to work with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and our law enforcement partners to protect the civil rights of all citizens and hold officers accountable for criminal misconduct.”  

Maynard will serve nine years in prison and three years of supervised release for the violation of the arrestee's civil rights.