FARMINGTON — A federal grand jury
indicted the former sheriff's deputy who was caught on camera beating an
American Indian man in the head and neck with a flashlight, authorities
announced Friday.
Dale Frazier, 56, stands charged with
one count of unlawful assault with a dangerous weapon after he beat 23-year-old
Donovan Tanner with his department-issued flashlight on St. Patrick's Day 2011,
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales said in a prepared statement.
"The indictment charges Frazier
with violating (Tanner's) right to be free from the use of unreasonable force
by a police officer," Gonzales said.
Images captured on Frazier's in-car
patrol camera depict Frazier slamming Tanner onto the hood of the car face up
and holding him down with the Maglight flashlight on Tanner's neck and larynx.
He strikes Tanner twice in the head and
neck while Tanner is on the car before hitting him several more times after he
fell to the ground.
Frazier, after the beating, cuffs
Tanner and helps him into the back of the patrol car. Tanner subsequently was
arrested for disarming a peace officer, charges that later were dropped by the
District Attorney's Office.
Tanner, was walking away from Three
Rivers Brewery with his brother Myron Tanner when he was confronted by Frazier.
The brothers had engaged in a verbal
altercation with a large group of Anglo men when they encountered Frazier, who
had responded minutes earlier after hearing the screaming.