Gregory Higgins, 42, was indicted on Tuesday for using excessive force against an arrestee while Higgins was a deputy with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, announced Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee J. Douglas Overbey, and FBI Knoxville Special Agent in Charge Troy A. Sowers.
Higgins is charged with one count of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of making false statements to the FBI. The indictment alleges that Higgins used unreasonable force when he assaulted handcuffed arrestee A.L., resulting in bodily injury to A.L., and that Higgins then made false statements to the FBI about the assault.
The first count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years of imprisonment while the second count carries a maximum penalty of five years. An indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Knoxville Division of the FBI, and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Kathryn E. Gilbert of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant United States Attorney Perry H. Piper.