Washington [US], March 11 (ANI/Sputnik): A county sheriff in the US state of Arkansas was sentenced to four years in prison for using unreasonable force to punish two people in his custody, the Justice Department said in a press release.

"Former Franklin County, Arkansas, Sheriff Anthony Boen, 51, was sentenced today to four years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and a $4,800 fine for assaulting two individuals in his custody," the release said on Thursday.

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According to the release, in December of 2018 Boen struck a detainee multiple times in the head with a closed fist while the detainee was shackled to a bench inside the Franklin County Jail. This came just weeks after he slammed a detainee onto the floor and ripped his hair during an interrogation.

Both detainees suffered bodily injury as a result of Boen's actions, the Justice Department said.

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When an investigation began, the release added, Boen pressured officers who witnessed the assaults to lie to investigators.

He was also convicted of two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law after a six-day trial in August 2021, the release said. (ANI/Sputnik)

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