HAMMOND, Ind. — A former northern Indiana police officer who was caught on video repeatedly punching a handcuffed man in 2018 has been sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Cory Newland, a former Elkhart police officer, was sentenced Friday for his role in the beating. He had pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Hammond to a federal charge of deprivation of civil rights and aiding and abetting, according to court records.
Surveillance video showed Newland and another officer, Joshua Titus, punching the handcuffed suspect after the man spit on one of them at the Elkhart police station in January 2018.
Newland resigned from the Elkhart Police Department in August. Titus is awaiting trial.
A federal grand jury indicted both men in March 2019 on a charge of depriving the suspect, Mario Ledesma, of his rights through excessive force.
Newland and Titus were both placed on unpaid administrative leave following their federal indictments. Elkhart is in northern Indiana, 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Chicago.
