A federal grand jury in Louisville returned an indictment on Tuesday charging one former and two current Kentucky State Police troopers with beating and tasing multiple victims over a four year period.
The three are charged with violating the individuals’ civil rights “while acting as troopers with … Kentucky State Police,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky.
According to the indictment, former trooper Thomas Czartorski, 34, was charged with two counts of using unreasonable force in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 242.
Trooper Jarrod Lewis, 29, was charged with one count of using unreasonable force, and Trooper James Cameron Wright, 30, was charged with two counts of using unreasonable force and one count of perjury related to false declarations made under oath in connection with a federal civil case involving allegations of civil rights violations, prosecutors said.
If convicted, Wright faces up to 25 years in federal prison, while Czartorski faces up to 20 years and Lewis faces up to 10 years.
The incidents took place between 2020 and 2024 and includes four victims.
There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the FBI Louisville Public Corruption Civil Rights Task Force.
According to Jason Riley of WDRB.com:
This is the second indictment for former Kentucky State Police trooper Thomas Czartorski, who pleaded guilty in state court in 2023 to lying under oath about hitting a man with a flashlight while arresting him in 2020.
The April 2020 beating was caught on security video from inside the home.
Czartorski was charged with perjury and sentenced to three years diversion, meaning he would not serve any time in prison as long as he stays out of trouble.
As part of the June 14, 2023 plea agreement in Jefferson Circuit Court, Czartorski was removed from the military after a 17-year career. He is also prohibited from seeking another job in law enforcement.
The most recent federal charges accuse Czartorski of stomping and kicking a person, identified only as “Victim 1,” in the back ankles and feet on March 5, 2020.
In the same incident, Lewis stomped and kicked Victim 1 in the face, head and shoulders, according to the indictment.
Wright is also accused of kicking Victim 1 in the head, shoulders and torso. None of the three troopers had legal justification for the attack, according to the indictment.
On April 3, 2020, Czartorski, 34, struck another person, “Victim 2,” in the legs and torso with a flashlight. This appears to be the case he was previously charged with perjury for.
The indictment alleges that Wright tased a third person, “Victim 3,” on March 12, 2024, without justification.
And on Jan. 22, 2021, Wright was charged with perjury for allegedly lying under oath about the use of force in an April 9, 2020 arrest of “Victim 4,” specifically whether he hit the victim with closed fist or elbow, according to the indictment.
“I did not strike him with anything,” Wright said, according to the indictment. “Other than taking him to the ground, there was no force used.”
The indictment claims Wright knew that was a lie and did use force on Victim 4 during the arrest.
By Ken Howlett, News Director and Jason Riley, WDRB.com.
