A former jail administrator, John Gould, was sentenced to 97 months in prison for violating the civil rights of inmates at two separate jails in New Mexico, including assaulting an inmate by spraying pepper spray in his eyes and slamming his head, and later shooting an unarmed, naked inmate 12 times with projectiles while the inmate was locked in a holding cell. Gould had falsified reports and lied about both incidents. The Department of Justice prosecuted Gould for abuse of authority and bringing officials who abuse their power to justice.

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Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Former New Mexico Jail Administrator Sentenced for
Civil Rights Violations
John Gould Violated the Rights of Inmates in His Custody at Two
Separate Jails
A former jail administrator at the Cibola County Detention Center in Grants, N.M., was sentenced today
to 97 months in prison, two years of supervised release and a $400 special assessment for violating the
rights of inmates in his custody at two separate New Mexico jails. Judge James O. Browning announced
the sentence today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M.
John Gould was convicted by a federal jury on April 2, 2007, of two felony civil rights violations and two
counts of obstruction of justice. According to the evidence presented at trial, on Oct. 16, 2002, while
Gould was a Lieutenant and Shift Commander at the Dona Ana County Detention Center in Las Cruces,
N.M., he aided and abetted officers he supervised in assaulting an inmate without justification.
Specifically, the jury heard evidence that Gould applied pepper spray directly into the eyes of the inmate
and then slammed his head to the floor multiple times even though the inmate was restrained on the
floor and was not posing a threat to officers. As a result of this assault, the inmate suffered a fractured
shoulder that required surgery and multiple rib fractures. Following the incident, Gould wrote a false
official report about his actions and made false statements to the FBI and a federal grand jury. Five
other corrections officers entered guilty pleas to civil rights and obstruction of justice charges in
connection with this incident.
The jury also heard evidence that on March 4, 2004, Gould, while working as the administrator of the
Cibola County Detention Center and after he had already been indicted for the incident at the Dona Ana
County jail, shot a naked inmate twelve times in his back and buttocks with projectiles from a riot
control weapon. At the time Gould deployed the weapon through an open food port window, the inmate
was locked inside a holding cell and was not posing a threat to any officer. As a result of this assault, the
inmate suffered multiple flesh wounds that became infected, requiring the inmate to be hospitalized for
several days. Once again, following the assault, Gould wrote a false official report and made false
statements about the incident.
"Law enforcement officers are given tremendous authority and responsibility so that they can protect
and serve the public trust," said Loretta King, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights
Division. "Those who abuse this authority face serious consequences. The Civil Rights Division is
committed to prosecuting all cases of official misconduct and to bringing these individuals to justice."
The case was prosecuted by Special Litigation Counsel Kristy Parker and Deputy Chief Mark Blumberg
of the Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New
e
Mexico, and was investigated by FBI Special Agent Brian Russ.
09-448 Civil Rights Division
EXHIBIT
LXV
http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2009/May/09-crt-448.html 11/9/2009