A former Fairmount Heights, Maryland, police officer was sentenced to 74 months in federal prison on Wednesday after being found guilty of violating a man’s civil rights by using excessive force during a 2019 traffic stop, according to the United States Attorney’s Office.
Philip Dupree, 40, was convicted by a federal jury on June 17 on one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Dupree to serve three years on supervised release.
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According to court documents, the incident occurred on August 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C., when Dupree stopped a vehicle on Eastern Avenue NE. After detaining the driver and his sister, Dupree pepper-sprayed him while handcuffed and seated in the back of a police vehicle.
Jurors determined that Dupree used unreasonable force, violating the victim’s constitutional rights.
“When the defendant used unnecessary and excessive force on a man in handcuffs, he violated his duty and betrayed his oath to serve and protect,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said, “Dupree abused his authority as a police officer, and today he was held accountable for his actions.”
The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
