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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT

MONDAY, APRIL 2, 2007 (202) 514-2007


WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Former New Mexico Corrections


Officer Convicted on
Federal Civil Rights Charges
WASHINGTON – A former New Mexico corrections officer, John Gould, was
found guilty today by a federal jury in Albuquerque, N.M., of physically assaulting
two prisoners, one at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in October 2002, and
another inmate at the Cibola County Detention Center in March 2004, in violation
of their constitutional rights. Gould was also found guilty of obstructing justice for
filing false reports. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

“For nearly 50 years now, the Civil Rights Division has endeavored to protect the
constitutional rights of some of society’s most vulnerable members,” said Wan J.
Kim, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who willfully abuse their authority
to deprive the rights of individuals entrusted to their care.”

The evidence at trial established that on Oct. 16, 2002, Gould and other corrections
officers unlawfully beat an inmate who was restrained on his cell floor, causing
multiple injuries, including a broken left elbow, a broken right shoulder, broken
ribs, and multiple abrasions and contusions. The evidence further established that on
March 22, 2004, Gould, then-Cibola County jail administrator, fired 15 rounds from
a riot-control weapon at a detainee who was naked and alone in a small holding
cell. Eleven of the projectiles, which were plastic with a metal core, hit the detainee
in the testicles, legs, hips and chest, causing open wounds and welts that later
became infected. Following each incident, defendant Gould falsified reports to cover
up his crimes.

The jury found Gould guilty of two counts related to the jail assaults and two counts
of obstructing justice following each incident. Gould faces a maximum sentence of
10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for each criminal civil rights and
obstruction charge.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was
prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The Civil Rights Division is committed to the vigorous enforcement of the federal
criminal civil rights statutes, such as laws that prohibit the willful use of excessive
force or other acts of misconduct by law enforcement officials. In fiscal year 2006,
almost 50 percent of the cases filed by the Criminal Section involved excessive
force or law enforcement misconduct. Since fiscal year 2001, the Division has filed
25 percent more such cases and convicted nearly 50 percent more defendants in
these cases than in the preceding six years.

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