4 DC Police Officers Indicted on Charges Stemming from Assault on Black Man

From [HERE] Four District of Columbia police officers have been indicted on charges stemming from a brawl outside a downtown nightclub last year during which a man reported losing his eye.

Two of the officers are accused of repeatedly beating and kicking a Black man while off duty outside the Lotus Lounge. A third officer is accused of failing to arrest anyone in the fight, and a fourth is charged with lying to a grand jury that investigated the June 10, 2011, assault. The officers were indicted Wednesday.

The beating victim, Walter Blair II, alleged in a lawsuit filed this month that a brawl was unfolding as he was leaving the club and that he was surrounded and attacked by off-duty officers working as bouncers. The grand jury indictment says two of the officers, Kenneth McRavin and Thaddeus Modlin, Jr., repeatedly beat and kicked Blair even after he fell to the ground and that Keith Goins, another officer, witnessed the assault but did nothing. Detectives who reviewed videotape of the brawl identified the three as members of the department. A fourth officer, Yolanda Lampkin, lied to the grand jury when she said she heard McRavin identify himself as a police officer, prosecutors said.

Five other people were also indicted for their alleged roles in the assault.

“There are no exceptions for those who violate the law. This reinforces our message that violence will not be tolerated no matter who you are,” Police Chief Cathy Lanier said in a news release.Phone numbers could not immediately be found for McRavin and Lampkin. A message was left at a listing for Modlin on Thursday, and the line was busy at a listing for Goins. A union official also did not immediately return a phone message.

Blair’s lawyer, Ronald Karp, said his client had lost an eye and would be forever affected by the beating. He said Blair was grateful that the officers accused in the beating had been identified by name. His lawsuit against Lotus management and the city seeks $10 million.

“When you go out for an evening in Washington, the last thing you expect is you’re going to lose your eye as a result of a police officer,” he said. “You usually think that if that happens, it’s some sort of criminal that managed to get through police protection.”

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office for D.C. said no court dates had been set.

The incident brings up many questions -- like what the three officers doing there while off-duty. (D.C. cops are not allowed to moonlight as security guards at local establishments without the prior approval of the department.) [MORE]