Arturo Pacheco, Civil Rights Violations, California 2016

A former California correctional officer, Arturo Pacheco, has pleaded guilty to criminal civil rights violations for the on-duty assault of two inmates and submitting false reports about those incidents in an attempt to cover them up, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Pacheco was a correctional officer at California State Prison, Sacramento (CSP-Sacramento). On September 15, 2016, while escorting an inmate, Pacheco grabbed the legs of the inmate, pulling the legs out from under him. The inmate, whose hands were handcuffed behind his back, fell forward onto the concrete floor, breaking his jaw, several teeth, and suffering other injuries.

The inmate was transported to UC Davis Medical Center where he received treatment for his injuries. Approximately two days later, the inmate suffered a pulmonary embolism and died. While the inmate was receiving treatment, Pacheco, a sergeant, and other correctional officers began falsifying reports to cover up the incident.

Following the death of the inmate, investigators uncovered a second incident involving Pacheco. In that incident, on May 19, 2016, Pacheco had, unprovoked, discharged a canister of pepper spray at short range into the eyes of an inmate who was inside of a prison cell. Pacheco falsified his report in that case to make it appear as though his actions were justified in order to save the life of the inmate.

Pacheco faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison on each of the false reporting counts and 10 years in prison on each of the assault counts and a $250,000 fine per count. The actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Pacheco remains out of custody pending sentencing. He is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on October 17, 2022.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edca/pr/former-california-correctional-officer-pleads-guilty-civil-rights-violations-assaults