FRANKLIN COUNTY, Arkansas — A former Arkansas sheriff has been sentenced to four years in prison after he assaulted two people that he had in custody.
54-year-old Anthony Boen, who was the Franklin County sheriff at the time of the crimes, is set to pay a $4,800 fine and have an additional two years of "supervised release" after his initial four-year prison sentence.
Boen's trial began back in August of 2021 and lasted a total of six days as the jury convicted him of deprivation of rights under color of law.
Evidence was presented at Boen's trial that showed the former sheriff used "unreasonable force to punish pretrial detainees on two separate occasions."
Back on Dec. 3, 2018, Boen closed his fist and hit the head of a person in his custody. This incident was reported to have happened as the detainee was shackled to a bench, with Boen striking the person multiple times.
In this same incident, the former sheriff reportedly left for several minutes before coming back and striking the person in the head once again and eventually spitting on them.
This behavior was also noticed on Nov. 21, 2018, after Boen body-slammed a different detainee onto the floor and ripped the person's hair during an interrogation.
“No one is above the law, especially high-ranking law enforcement officers who have a duty to uphold the Constitution and protect individuals in their custody,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
Both incidents ended in injury for the detainees and reports state that Boen contacted officers that were eye-witnesses, hoping to convince them not to provide information to investigators.
"When former Sheriff Boen brutally assaulted individuals in his custody and violated their civil rights, it impacted all Arkansans and their trust in authorities," said Special Agent in Charge James A. Dawson of the FBI’s Little Rock Field Office. "The FBI is committed to maintaining the public's trust in law enforcement. With today's sentencing of Mr. Boen, our community knows we will aggressively investigate and bring to justice any law enforcement officer who would violate the rights of their fellow Americans."