By Cain Burdeau
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS — An ex-police chief in the small Louisiana town of Mamou is going to prison and another awaits sentencing following a federal investigation into the illegal use of Tasers on inmates at the local jail.
The U.S. Department of Justice said former Police Chief Gregory W. Dupuis was sentenced Tuesday to one year in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard T. Haik. Dupuis pleaded guilty in April.
The Justice Department also said 44-year-old former police officer Robert McGee, who served under Dupuis before being elected police chief in 2014, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of violating an individual’s civil rights in 2010. McGee resigned as chief last week.
Federal prosecutors said in a news release that officers used Taser guns “as a form of punishment” oninmates they considered unruly.