Two police officers from Honolulu, Hawaii, have pleaded guilty to mistreating a homeless man while on duty and threatening to put him in jail if he refused to obey them.
John Rabago and his colleague Reginald Ramones have been facing multiple charges after forcing 37-year-old homeless man Samuel Ingall to lick a urinal and threatening him with jail time.
The Hawaii cops were indicted back in April following the incident that occurred in January last year.
According to the reports, a fellow police officer, who witnessed the two officers abusing the homeless man, reported the incident to their bosses.
The police were called to the scene after Ingall was reported for trespassing. That’s when Rabago and Ramones told the 37-year-old they would jail him if he refused to lick the urinal.
In fear of ending up in jail, the homeless man complied with the officers’ demands.
While Ramones pleaded guilty early on, Rabago maintained innocence until December when he changed his story and pleaded guilty to all accusations.
Both cops were initially facing 10 years in jail for abuse of power and mistreatment of a homeless man. However, they will both serve less time after accepting their plea deals.
“He was forced to essentially do something that’s disgusting. His face was forced into a urinal,” Ingall’s attorney said during the hearing which the homeless man attended in person.
“The police officers thought this was amusing. It wasn’t as though he was doing anything illegal but they chose to do this to him because he was vulnerable.”
Following the incident, Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard expressed her disgust over the officers’ actions and said the disturbing act “cast a dark shadow on the department.”
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Replaced!