Ryan Phillips Pleads Guilty to Using Excessive Force, Daleville AL, 2024

Former Daleville Police Sergeant Ryan Phillips has pleaded guilty to depriving an arrestee of his civil rights under color of law. Phillips used excessive force against the arrestee, identified as D.M., resulting in bodily injury.

According to court documents, Phillips willfully used unreasonable force against D.M. while the arrestee was in a jail cell. The two had a verbal altercation, and Phillips removed his badge and firearm before entering D.M.’s cell and hitting him multiple times in the upper body and face.

The incident resulted in lacerations and bruising to D.M.

In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said, "When police officers violate the law and abuse their power, it erodes the community’s trust in the ability of law enforcement to keep them safe and to preserve their rights."

"The Justice Department is steadfast in its determination to protect the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, including people who are incarcerated, and to hold accountable law enforcement officials who use excessive force," Clarke added.

The FBI Mobile Field Office investigated the case with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. Trial Attorney MarLa Duncan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Counts for the Middle District of Alabama are prosecuting the case.

Phillips faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

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