A federal grand jury in Topeka, Kansas, returned an indictment charging Former Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper James Carson with violating an individual’s civil rights by using excessive force, announced Thomas E. Wheeler, II, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division; Thomas E. Beall, United States Attorney for the District of Kansas; and Darrin E. Jones, Special Agent in Charge for the Kansas City Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The indictment alleges that James Carson, while acting under color of law as a Trooper with the Kansas Highway Patrol, used excessive force amounting to punishment against R.T. The indictment further alleges that Carson’s use of excessive force resulted in bodily injury to R.T. If convicted on the civil rights charge, Carson faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being investigated by the Topeka Resident Agency of the Kansas City Field Office of the FBI. The case was initially investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Maag of the United States Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Rose Gibson of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.