The former Tracy City Police Chief and Chief Deputy for the Grundy County Sheriff's Office has been found guilty of three counts of federal civil rights violations.
Anthony Glenn "Tony" Bean was ordered detained after the finding by Federal Judge Travis McDonough in Chattanooga that he used excessive force against two arrestees while he was a law enforcement officer. He had been on paid administrative leave following his indictment by a federal grand jury.
Bean's son, T.J. Bean, was found not guilty.
The Beans earlier had asked for a bench trial after they were indicted on charges of beating handcuffed individuals and others who were following their commands.
Tony Bean will be sentenced by Judge McDonough on June 24. He faces up to 10 years in prison on each count.
He was found not guilty on two of the five charges he faced.
One of the guilty counts involved an incident on Aug. 10, 2014, when he was Tracy City Police chief and allegedly beat a handcuffed individual.
Another was on Dec. 30, 2017, when he was charged with beating a man who had been involved in a police chase and had crashed his vehicle into the Bean vehicle. It was charged that he "repeatedly and unnecessarily punched the handcuffed man in the face."
In another incident, it was charged that Tony Bean hit a man following a car chase. The man was in the driver's seat with his hands up when Bean hit him in the face with a gun or flashlight, breaking bones in his face, it was stated.
Prosecutors filed a motion listing seven other incidents of alleged mistreatment of prisoners by Tony Bean. His son was allegedly involved in two of those.
“Every person in our nation has the right to be free from unlawful abuse by police officers, including the use of excessive force during an arrest,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This verdict makes clear that law enforcement officials who use unlawful force are not above the law. We will not stand idly by in the face of criminal misconduct by law enforcement officials in any part of the country.”
“Tony Bean held a position of public trust, and he willfully violated that trust. This violation diminishes the tremendous work performed by law enforcement every day. Our office is committed to ensuring the protection of every person’s civil rights,” said United States Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III.
“Civil Rights violations are always of great concern, particularly when an officer betrays the oath to protect and serve. The public has an absolute right to trust that law enforcement will protect those they serve. When that trust is violated, the law enforcement community is tarnished, and the community’s confidence is broken,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico.
James Brooks prosecuted the case locally.