Former Louisiana Cop Hits Black Man With Flashlight 18 Times, Faces Civil Rights Charges

A former Louisiana state trooper was indicted Thursday for brutally assaulting a Black man, hitting him multiple times with a flashlight during a traffic stop in May 2019.

Jacob Brown, 31, was indicted on a federal civil rights charge after he struck Aaron Bowman, 46, on the head and body causing multiple injuries, including broken ribs and laceration to the head and jaws. The court indicted Brown for using excessive force against an arrestee, according to a news release.

The arrest that happened on May 30, 2019, was covered up until Bowman sued Louisiana State Police in December 2020. Brown was arrested on charges of assault but the investigation was paused awaiting a federal civil rights probe, NY Daily News reported.

A video of the assault that was released last month showed Brown striking Bowman 18 times in 24 seconds using a flashlight that was reinforced with a metal tactical cap for breaking glass.

“It tears me down when I talk about it,” Bowman said in a press conference in March. “It’s like I’m reliving that moment again, you know, and I still have sharp pains in my head from that,” he said as reported by WAFB.

Brown's lawyer had previously claimed that Bowman was resisting the arrest, justifying the use of force. However, in the video Bowman can be heard crying “I’m not resisting! I’m not resisting!” in between the blows while Brown continued the assault.

If convicted on the charges, Brown faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Brown is not employed with the Louisiana State Police since he resigned in March.

There were many previous reports of assaults against Black men involving Louisiana State police, including the death of Ronald Greene on May 10, 2019.

"The department has previously acknowledged that it has open and ongoing criminal investigations into incidents involving the Louisiana State Police that resulted in death or bodily injury to arrestees. Those investigations remain ongoing," the Department of Justice said in the news release.