Jan. 07--A federal judge sentenced a former Cook County sheriff's deputy Wednesday to the maximum -- one year in prison -- for mistreating a shackled detainee by jerking on the chains around his ankles, knocking him to a concrete floor in the department's Maywood lockup and breaking his nose and a tooth.
In handing down the stiffest sentence possible for a misdemeanor conviction, U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria Valdez said she wanted others in law enforcement to know there are consequences for violating the public's trust and that "they have to be careful how they do their jobs."
"The public puts its trust in you as an officer of the law and the incredible power that holds," Valdez told Rafael Munoz. "What happened here was extremely serious."
The incident was captured on jail surveillance video. The video was played for Valdez at Wednesday's hearing and then made public.
Attorneys for Munoz, 39, had sought probation or home confinement. After learning he was headed for prison instead, Munoz exhaled heavily several times and steadied himself on the podium as the judge informed him of his appellate rights. With tears in his eyes, he sat down with an elbow propped on the jury box and buried his head in the crook of his arm.
A seven-year veteran of the sheriff's office, Munoz pleaded guilty in September to using unreasonable force, a misdemeanor federal civil rights violation. He also admitted falsifying reports to make it look as though the detainee had hurt himself in an accident.
Munoz's admissions came three years after a Cook County judge acquitted him of felony charges of aggravated battery and official misconduct in connection with the same July 2010 incident.
The victim, referred to in court records as M.O., had been arrested on suspicion of driving drunk and was taken to the Maywood lockup, where Munoz was guarding inmates. Munoz admitted in his plea agreement that when the detainee asked that his handcuffs be loosened, he entered the cell and ordered the detainee, who was shackled at the ankles and handcuffed behind his back, to face the wall.
The video showed the detainee turning as instructed. Seconds later, Munoz grabbed and forcibly pulled the chain that connected M.O.'s ankle shackles to each other, causing him to flip forward and hit his head and face on the floor. As the video kept playing, blood could be seen pooling around the victim's face.
Prosecutors said M.O. suffered swelling, bruising and bleeding from cuts to his lips and nose in addition to the broken nose and tooth.
In his plea agreement with prosecutors, Munoz admitted he attempted to cover up the excessive force by filing reports falsely stating that M.O. had "rolled onto the cell floor" and injured himself.
Munoz was hired by the sheriff's department in 2006 and resigned in 2013, records show. As part of his plea deal, Munoz agreed not to seek or accept any future jobs in law enforcement or a position in charge of detainees.
Before the sentence was handed down, Munoz apologized in a brief statement to the court, saying, "I just feel horrible about everything."
In asking for a sentence short of prison, Munoz's attorney, Paul Flynn, said the video did not capture M.O.'s behavior prior to the incident. He hurled racial slurs at several guards and banged his head repeatedly against a wall, Flynn said. What happened to the victim, while "tragic," was not intentional, he said.
Munoz, who supports two young children and has recently been working as a truck driver, is scheduled to report to prison next month. He declined to comment to reporters outside the courtroom.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
Twitter @jmetr22b
