3 deputies accused of assault

The FBI arrested three Lawrence County deputies yesterday after a federal grand jury indicted them on charges related to unlawful use of force.

The grand jury in Cincinnati charged Jeremy S. Hanshaw, 36, of Coal Grove; Ronald S. Hatfield, 25, of Waterloo; and Jason D. Mays, 22, of South Point, with depriving and conspiring to deprive a person in custody of his civil rights, stemming from an August assault of a handcuffed suspect being booked into the Lawrence County jail in Ironton.

The indictment cites 14 examples of unreasonable force against the victim on Aug. 16-17. The victim is identified only as “L.K.”

The indictment states that Hanshaw slammed the victim against a door and then to the ground, putting him in a chokehold as Hatfield kicked and punched him, while Mays attempted to block a surveillance camera while his fellow deputies had the victim on the ground.

The indictment states that Hanshaw smothered, choked and struck the victim in the head with his elbow while he was in a restraint chair, his hands cuffed behind his back, and that Mays punched him in the neck while L.K. was restrained on a medical gurney.

At least one of the defendants is accused of writing false entries on jail logs and reports, according to the indictment. Hanshaw justified the assault by claiming that L.K was combative.

All three pleaded not guilty.

If found guilty, each man could serve up to 10 years in prison.

Neither Lawrence County Sheriff Jeff Lawless nor Prosecutor Bingham Anderson returned calls for comment.