Officer Indicted for Assaulting Handcuffed Prisoner, Police Say

A Montgomery County police officer has been indicted in connection with the assault of a handcuffed prisoner inside the Germantown police district holding cell, a police statement released Friday said.

Officer Devon Hitson, 32, has been charged with misconduct in office and second-degree assault. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

“Earning and maintaining the public’s trust is critical to the success of every police department. When an officer abuses his or her authority, he or she must be held accountable,” Chief Tom Manger said in the statement.

Hitson, an officer since February 2014, was a patrol officer assigned to the Germantown district.

The incident dates from Aug. 7, 2017, when Germantown district command staff conducted a routine review of use of force reports completed by station officers, the statement said.

Hitson had completed a report for an Aug. 1 incident that occurred in one of the Germantown district station’s prisoner holding cells and involved the use of physical force against an adult male prisoner.

After reviewing the report, staff viewed Hitson’s body-worn camera footage from the incident and also viewed video from the prisoner holding cell camera, the statement said. The prisoner holding cell video showed Hitson assaulting the adult male prisoner in the holding cell while the prisoner was handcuffed behind his back.

The prisoner has not been named because police do not name victims or witnesses, Montgomery Police Capt. Paul Starks said.

Hitson was suspended from duty as a Montgomery County Police Officer and his police powers were removed on Aug. 8, 2017, the statement said.

The department completed a criminal investigation into Hitson’s actions and provided the State’s Attorney’s Office with the findings of that investigation.

The State’s Attorney’s Office presented those findings and played the video from the holding cell to the grand jury Thursday. Based on the evidence presented, the grand jury indicted Hitson on Thursday on the criminal charges of misconduct in office and second-degree assault, police said.

Hitson remains on a suspended status and is on paid, administrative leave, police said.

Once the criminal investigation is concluded with a resolution in the court system, the Police Department’s administrative investigation conducted by the Department’s Internal Affairs Division (IAD) will begin, police said.

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