WASHINGTON — A former Fairmount Heights, Maryland police officer was sentenced Wednesday to 74 months in federal prison after being convicted of violating a man’s civil rights by using excessive force during a 2019 traffic stop, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Philip Dupree, 40, was found guilty by a federal jury on June 17 of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Dupree to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, the incident occurred on August 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C., when Dupree conducted a traffic stop on Eastern Avenue NE. After detaining the driver and the driver’s sister, Dupree pepper-sprayed the driver while he was handcuffed and seated in the back of a police vehicle.
Jurors concluded that Dupree’s actions constituted the use of unreasonable force in violation of the victim’s constitutional rights.
“When the defendant used unnecessary and excessive force on a man in handcuffs, he violated his duty and betrayed his oath to serve and protect,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division added, “Dupree abused his authority as a police officer, and today Dupree was held accountable for his actions.”
The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
