Mark A. Cowden, a 51-year-old former lieutenant with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for slamming a handcuffed man face-first into a brick wall and punching him in the back of the head. The incident, captured on video surveillance, occurred in January 2015 in the lobby of the sheriff’s office in Weirton, West Virginia, and marked a brutal abuse of power by a sworn officer.
A federal jury convicted Cowden after a five-day trial, finding him guilty of Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law. Evidence revealed that Cowden, then serving as a deputy, escalated the arrest into a violent assault by forcing the restrained man into a wall, slamming his head, and delivering a closed-fist punch to the back of his skull. The footage, played for jurors, left little room for dispute over the severity and intent of the attack.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, condemned the act as a betrayal of public trust. “The defendant abused his power as a law enforcement official, using excessive force to harm a person in his custody,” Gupta stated. “Actions like these violate federal law and erode public trust.”
Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen emphasized the broader implications for law enforcement accountability. “Former deputy Cowden’s prosecution and conviction by a jury of his peers, the sentence imposed by the Court, and the fact that he will never serve another day as a police officer, reinforces to the people of West Virginia the seriousness of the law enforcement community’s commitment to police its own,” she said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation opened its investigation in March 2016 after the case was referred by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod J. Douglas of the Northern District of West Virginia and Trial Attorney Nicholas Murphy from the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.
Sentencing was presided over by Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp, Jr. The conviction marks a rare but critical federal win in the ongoing national reckoning over police violence and accountability, sending a message that even in rural jurisdictions, unchecked brutality won’t go unpunished.
RELATED: Ex-Deputy Mark A. Cowden Convicted in Brutal 2015 Beating
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Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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