A federal grand jury has indicted two members of the Eastern Connecticut State University police department on civil rights violations.
According to the indictment, Martin Praisner Jr., 47, of Lisbon, and Steven Craig, 43, of Glastonbury violated a suspect's civil rights by repeatedly spraying him with pepper spray while he was being held in a detention cell.
Last September, Craig arrested the victim on the ECSU campus for trespassing, investigators said. He was brought to the university police department and placed in the tiny holding cell there.
The indictment alleges that, after the victim damaged the cell wall when he was denied his request to call his lawyer, Praisner warned him that the officers "were going to pepper spray" him if he continued."
The victim continued to kick the cell wall and Praisner is accused of spraying him in the face with pepper spray.
The victim was not removed from the cell and was sprayed several more times. Investigators say the officers did not remove the victim from the cell for another 11 minutes after the last spray.
The civil rights charges against the officers carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of up to $250,000. Craig is also charged with one count of obstruction of justice stemming from an alleged false report he filed in connection with the arrest.
