The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Florida has charged and fired one of their sergeants after he held a gun to a handcuffed man’s head, according to The Washington Post.
Sergeant Janak Amin was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on Friday (July 10) after he threatened the victim’s life the day prior. The man was reportedly unarmed when the sergeant held a gun to his head and threatened to kill him because he wouldn’t provide his name.
Amin, a 21-year veteran, reportedly put the victim on the ground in a face-down position. He asked for the man’s name, but when he declined to answer, he knelt down beside him and placed his weapon inches from the victim’s head.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister says Amin told the man that if he didn’t tell the authorities his name he would “splatter his brains over the concrete.” After the incident, the victim told investigators that he didn’t give his name because he was “scared to death.”
Although Amin has no prior record of unjustified use of force, Chronister says the department had to sever ties with him. “It only takes one incident to violate the oath that you take, violate the public’s trust and break the law,” he said.
“There is no question, this incident is detestable and not representative of who we are as a law enforcement agency,” Chronister continued. “When a member of our team breaks the oath they have taken and the law, it erodes the sacred trust we have with the community that we have worked so hard to earn. As your sheriff, I will always fight for and protect victims and peruse lawbreakers, even if it’s one of our own.”
Other deputies who were on the scene were able to de-escalate the situation and reported it. “The sheriff applauded the deputies on scene who reported Amin to the command staff immediately after witnessing his behavior. He said they were following recent training requiring them to intervene when they witness excessive force by colleagues,” the outlet reports.
Chronister said they’ve had a “duty to intervene” policy in place for years, but recently made their staff review a training video on the policy following the recent protests.
If Amin is found guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, he could face a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in prison.