Jury Finds Former Cop Used Excessive Force - Acadiana's Multi-Media News Station

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A state jury has found that a former city police officer used excessive force against a man he had handcuffed in 2007.

On Friday a jury awarded $239,000 to Brian Townsend, who claimed he suffered a ruptured bladder when a then-city police officer, who is now in federal prison, allegedly kicked him while handcuffed at a police substation.

After deliberating for more than three hours, the jury found that Nathan Davis used excessive force on Townsend by pepper-spraying him, but jurors did not find that Davis kicked Townsend.

In a videotaped deposition played for the jury during the week-long trial, Davis admitted pepper-spraying Townsend but denied kicking him.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)