On December 27, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina made an announcement regarding the guilty plea of Daniel Mitchell. Mitchell, a former lieutenant at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (FBOP), has admitted to conspiring to violate civil rights.
On December 8, 2021, the U.S. attorney’s office reported that Lt. Mitchell, who was supervising the special housing unit (SHU) at the Federal Correctional Institution Butner Medium II at the time, received a report from a female officer. The officer stated that an inmate, referred to as K.G. in court documents, had exposed himself and performed a sexual act in her presence.
Instead of adhering to the FBOP’s usual disciplinary procedure, which typically involves a formal write-up, Mitchell chose to address the incident by discussing it with another corrections officer, referred to as “co-conspirator 1,” and together they decided to take more stringent measures, according to the department.
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, the co-conspirator recruited additional officers to help move K.G. to the holding cell.
The inmate was alone with the co-conspirator, who proceeded to strike and kick K.G. multiple times, causing him to be knocked to the ground, according to the department’s report.
The department confirmed that other officers intervened and successfully put an end to the assault.
“The defendant’s actions were an unacceptable breach of his responsibilities as a law enforcement officer,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“FBOP officers cannot take the law into their own hands, and the Justice Department will aggressively prosecute federal and local law enforcement officials who use physical force to punish inmates.”
According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Mitchell could potentially be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.
