Federal charges allege falsified reports in 2019 DeSoto Parish jail beating

Federal prosecutors have charged two former DeSoto Parish sheriff’s deputies with falsifying reports tied to the 2019 beating of Jarius Brown, a civil-rights case that has intensified scrutiny of how local, state and federal authorities handle police misconduct in rural Louisiana.

The beating occurred during a six-minute strip search at the DeSoto Parish Detention Center, leaving Brown with a broken nose, a fractured eye socket and a badly swollen face. Brown, then 25, was naked and handcuffed as deputies confronted him for not squatting to allow a full search. Video of the incident, which remained under wraps for years, has become central to Brown’s long-running lawsuit seeking damages for his injuries.

The grainy footage shows the confrontation escalating into a sustained, force-filled assault as Brown is repeatedly struck while in the laundry room. Authorities say the beating included roughly 50 punches. Afterward, the warden had Brown taken to the hospital for treatment. The image now serves as a hinge point in a case that has drawn national attention to how police misconduct is investigated and prosecuted at different levels of government.

Louisiana State Police concluded there was no crime in the case, a finding that followed months of review and years of legal maneuvering. The agency said Brown had been the aggressor in the altercation after his arrest on theft charges, and its report argued that troopers had taken “appropriate action.” The delay in reviewing the video and interviewing Brown was attributed in part to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to state investigators. A former DeSoto Parish district attorney said the state’s handling of the investigation reflected a broader pattern in which local officials appeared to impede progress, while the federal government ultimately pursued a different path.

Despite the state police conclusion, the U.S. Justice Department charged both deputies with falsifying their reports. In separate federal pleas, Javarrea Pouncy admitted to using excessive force and was sentenced to about three years in federal prison, while DeMarkes Grant pleaded guilty to obstructing justice and served a 10-month sentence before being released. Grant said he remained “stressed out” and had “lost a lot” as a result of the conviction, but he did not express regret about the beating. Brown’s case moved forward in civil court even as the criminal outcomes unfolded in federal court.

The state case had stalled Brown’s civil suit. A local judge, Amy McCartney, dismissed the lawsuit in 2023, ruling the beating did not constitute a crime of violence. An appeals court later reversed, and Brown’s lawyers continued pursuing damages for medical expenses and other losses. Brown’s attorney, Michael Imbroscio, described the victory as a necessary step toward accountability, asserting that Brown “survived a horrific, unprovoked beating” and is entitled to justice. The American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana has also participated in related litigation challenging the state’s limitations on civil claims arising from police violence.

The broader context in DeSoto Parish includes a string of misconduct cases that have drawn scrutiny to how local authorities handle alleged abuses. Within weeks of Brown’s beating, another deputy faced malfeasance charges after tackling and punching a man entering a grocery store, ultimately agreeing to a permanent ban from law enforcement in exchange for the charges being dismissed. In a separate case, a deputy was charged with third-degree rape after ordering a woman he arrested to perform oral sex on him. Russell Graham, a Louisiana State Police spokesperson, declined to explain why the state investigation concluded there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prosecute Brown’s case, attributing delays to the pandemic but emphasizing a commitment to thorough, impartial investigations.

Experts who reviewed the footage for AP said Brown never posed a threat and characterized the force as excessive. Charles “Joe” Key, a former Baltimore police lieutenant who typically testifies in defense of police actions, said after reviewing the video that, in his view, there was no objective basis for the beating. Andrew Scott, a former police chief of Boca Raton, Florida, said there was nothing in the footage that justified the assault and suggested the deputies may have been seeking punishment rather than enforcing an arrest. “There was nothing on the video that would have justified the beating,” Scott said, adding that anyone arguing otherwise was not a competent or truthful expert.

DeSoto Parish Sheriff Jayson Richardson defended the state police review as a separate, apples-to-apples assessment from federal findings and noted the differences in statutes. He suspended Deputy DeMarkes Grant shortly after the incident and accepted the resignation of Deputy Javarrea Pouncy, saying the actions taken were necessary to uphold public trust. In reflecting on the broader pattern, former district attorney Gary Evans, who has since been replaced by Adams, criticized the local system as having fallen short and suggested that federal action remains essential for accountability in communities where local oversight has faltered.

Brown’s plight extends beyond the courtroom. His father, Derek Washington, said the attack worsened Brown’s mental health and left him fearful of crowded spaces and everyday situations that had previously been manageable. He described his son as someone who “cannot function in society” and who now lives with anxiety about the world around him. Brown’s legal team said the family remains committed to pursuing damages and medical costs to help address the lasting impact of the beating.

Today, civil-rights advocates emphasize that the federal government’s willingness to pursue charges in Brown’s case signals a critical if evolving role for federal enforcement in cases where state or local probes fail to deliver accountability. As the legal process continues, Brown’s lawyers and supporters say the case underscores the need for independent scrutiny of law enforcement practices, particularly in communities where the line between punishment and procedure can blur in the absence of strong, consistent oversight.