A former Lieutenant with the New Castle, Indiana, Police Department was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for using excessive force against people in custody and obstructing justice by attempting to deceive investigators.
On Oct. 4, 2024, a federal jury convicted Aaron Jason Strong, 47, of three counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and one count of witness tampering. At trial, evidence introduced by the government established that Strong had intentionally used excessive force against people in police custody on multiple occasions.
“The severe sentence imposed on this former law enforcement official should send a clear message: ‘street justice’ has no place in 21st-century policing and violators will be held accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The vicious and lawless abuse that Aaron Strong perpetrated has no place in modern law enforcement. This sentence reflects the senseless cruelty of the defendant’s conduct, the serious physical injuries inflicted on victims and the harms to society when those entrusted with public authority arrogate to themselves the power to mete out summary punishment.”
“Aaron Strong viciously beat, stomped, and shot three defenseless men with no lawful justification – causing serious injuries including a fractured spine,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana. “After good officers horrified by these abuses reported his actions, Strong lied in an attempt to cover up his crimes. The vast majority of police serve the public honorably, and when criminals like Aaron Strong violate their oaths and brutalize the public, an already difficult and dangerous profession grows even more so. Our U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department, together with our partners at the FBI and Indiana State Police, are committed to doing the work necessary to earn and keep the trust of the public. The serious prison sentence imposed here demonstrates that there are consequences for police brutality, because no one is above the law.”
Evidence presented at trial established that, in August 2019, then-Lieutenant Strong responded to another officer’s report of a foot chase. As Strong arrived, the suspect stopped running, put his hands up, said “I’m done” and lowered himself to the ground. As another officer approached to take the suspect into custody, Strong ran up and struck the suspect at least 12 times with a metal police baton, nearly striking a fellow officer. Other involved officers promptly reported the incident, and the Indiana State Police were called in to conduct an independent criminal investigation. During a meeting with the State Police investigator, Strong gave a false account of the incident in which he minimized his own use of force and exaggerated the danger posed by the suspect.
Strong was also convicted of using excessive force against two men being detained pending trial in a low-security annex of the Henry County, Indiana, jail. While assisting correctional officers with a dormitory search, Strong stomped on the head of a detainee who was complying with commands to lie on the ground. A few moments later, Strong approached a second inmate, who was kneeling, not moving, with his back to Strong, and shot him point-blank in the back with a less-lethal “beanbag” round, which Strong had been trained could cause death or serious bodily injury when used at short ranges. The impact from the round fractured the detainee’s spine.
The FBI Indianapolis Field Office and Indiana State Police investigated the case, with assistance from the New Castle Police Department.
Trial Attorney Alec Ward of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Blackett for the Southern District of Indiana are prosecuting the case.