Terry Peck

Former Gary Police Officer sentenced for using excessive force

Contributed By: The 411 News

Wash., D.C. – A former officer with the Gary, Indiana Police Department (GPD), was sentenced to one year and a day in prison, and one year of supervised release after pleading guilty to violating the civil rights of an arrestee.

Terry Peck, 48, previously admitted to having used unreasonable force during the arrest of the victim, a man the defendant had stopped for an alleged traffic infraction.

Peck was indicted in October 2021 by a federal grand jury. He is a past president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 61 in Gary.

According to the plea agreement, Peck admitted that, on March 19, 2019, while on duty and acting as an officer for GPD, he conducted a traffic stop and placed the driver under arrest. While the driver was handcuffed and not posing a threat to Peck or anyone around him, Peck slammed the driver’s face and head against a police vehicle, breaking the man’s tooth and causing him bodily injury.

In November 2021, the Gary Police Civil Service Commission voted to accept a recommendation from GPD Police Chief Brian Evans to terminate Officer Peck, who was accused of pushing a handcuffed man's face into a police vehicle with enough force to chip the man's tooth.

The disciplinary complaint that led to Peck's termination said Peck stopped Rasaan Hamilton, of Gary, on March 19, 2019. Peck pulled Hamilton from his car and later pushed Hamilton's face into the back of a police vehicle as Hamilton stood handcuffed.

“All people in our country have a right to be free from excessive force by police officers,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The sentencing of this defendant makes clear that officers cannot violate people’s civil rights with impunity.”

Clifford D. Johnson, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana said, “This successful prosecution demonstrates how justice can prevail when victims and witnesses bravely report criminal misconduct by those who took an oath to serve and protect.”

The United States Attorney’s Office encourages anyone who may have been a victim of a civil rights or hate crime violation to contact the FBI at (219) 769-3719 or submit a tip to tips@fbi.gov.

Story Posted:11/16/2023