United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that Mario Stewart, a Sergeant with the Mount Vernon Police Department (MVPD), was sentenced to six months in prison by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas. In 2019, while working as a Sergeant for the MVPD, Stewart used excessive force against an individual experiencing a mental health crisis by tasing him seven times over several minutes, violating the individual’s constitutional rights.
“New Yorkers depend daily on the women and men of law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “We trust them to keep us safe, to act in line with their training, and to respect our individual rights. This trust, earned over decades, is essential to our way of life. When a law enforcement officer breaches that trust, we are all affected. Yesterday’s sentencing was about protecting the trust between our communities and our police departments.”
According to court documents and statements made in court:
On or about March 26, 2019, Stewart was employed as a Sergeant with the MVPD’s Emergency Services Unit responsible for responding to individuals experiencing mental health crises. On that day, Stewart and six other MVPD officers were called to assist an individual in Mount Vernon who was undergoing a mental health crisis.
At the scene, Stewart and other officers restrained the individual by handcuffing his hands behind his back and securing his legs in a restraint bag for transport for medical assistance. When they were unable to pull the restraint bag over his chest because he held onto one of its straps, Stewart directed him to release it before deploying his taser seven times while he remained on the ground handcuffed with secured legs causing bodily injury including extreme pain.
In pronouncing Stewart’s sentence U.S District Judge Kenneth M Karas stated that imprisonment was necessary “to send a clear message” indicating law enforcement must not cross lines despite difficult decisions faced during duty emphasizing citizens’ safety from victimization by officers themselves.
In addition to prison term Stewart aged 46 from Brooklyn New York received six months home confinement sentence.
Mr Clayton praised investigative work done by Federal Bureau Investigation alongside Westchester County District Attorney Office & MVPD aiding investigation process handled Civil Rights Unit Criminal Division led Assistant US Attorneys Sam Adelsberg Jared Hoffman charge prosecution
