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Jail Supervisor Lied to FBI
Nashville, TN – In a shocking turn of events, Gary Ola, 54, a sergeant at the Cheatham County Jail in Ashland City, Tennessee, pleaded guilty to making false statements to FBI agents about a Taser incident that left a detainee stunned.
Ola’s guilt was announced by U.S. Attorney Don Cochran for the Middle District of Tennessee on September 12, 2018. The charges stemmed from two interviews with federal agents investigating the Taser incident, which occurred on November 5, 2016.
According to court documents, in the first interview in August 2017, Ola falsely told agents with the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation that he did not see another corrections officer deploy a Taser and stun the detainee after securing the detainee in a restraint chair. He repeated this false statement in a second interview with the FBI in May 2018, claiming he did not see the corrections officer stun the detainee after handcuffing him.
Ola admitted to making these false statements because he feared retaliation if he reported that the corrections officer had used his Taser in violation of the jail’s policy and training.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Beth Myers of the Middle District of Tennessee and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Michael J. Songer.
Ola faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count. A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
The indictment also charges another corrections officer with two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of obstruction of justice. His trial is scheduled for early 2019 and he is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Key Facts
- State: Tennessee
- Category: Public Corruption|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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