Jurors Convict Former Missouri Police Officer of Civil Rights Violation, Other Charges

ST. LOUIS - A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Wednesday convicted a former Northwoods, Missouri police officer of charges related to the assault of a handcuffed man in 2023.

Jurors found Samuel Davis, 28, guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, one count of witness tampering by way of misleading conduct for making a misleading statement to a police dispatcher and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation for turning off his body-worn camera. He was found not guilty of one count of conspiracy.

Jurors acquitted another former officer, Michael Hill, 54, of all charges.

Evidence and testimony at the trial, which began March 2, showed that Northwoods police were called to a Walgreens store on the evening of July 4, 2023, about a shoplifter, C.G. C.G. had shoplifted from the store before and was known to Davis. Davis handcuffed C.G., who was compliant and cooperative, and then placed him in Davis' police vehicle. Instead of taking him to jail, Davis drove him to an empty field in a desolate area of Kinloch. C.G. testified during the trial that Davis pepper-sprayed him, beat him with a baton while he was still handcuffed, breaking his jaw, and then tased him. A passerby interrupted the attack, causing Davis to flee, evidence and testimony showed. She returned and found C.G., bloodied and crying out for help. C.G. told responding St. Louis County Police Department officers and medical personnel that he had been beaten by a Northwoods officer. Medical records documented the broken jaw. Davis' TASER records indicated that it had been used around the time of the attack.

Davis did not file a report about the arrest of C.G., the trip to Kinloch or any use of force. He also turned off his body-worn camera.

Davis faces up to 10 years in prison for the deprivation of rights under color of law charge and 20 years in prison for the other charges.

The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug of the Eastern District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Civil Rights Division's Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.