FORT SMITH -- A sheriff in western Arkansas pleaded innocent Tuesday to three federal charges of using "unreasonable force" against prisoners on three occasions.
The U.S. attorney's office for the Western District of Arkansas accused Franklin County Sheriff Anthony Boen, 49, of punching one prisoner on the way to jail, grabbing the hair or beard of another in his office and striking a third in the head several times.
Two of the three were shackled and all three suffered injuries, according to an indictment filed Nov. 20.
Boen, the sheriff since 2011, was arraigned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Fort Smith on the federal charges of deprivation of rights under color of law.
According to one charge, Boen and a deputy transported an arrestee identified as J.P. to the county jail on Sept. 14, 2017.
"Boen punched J.P. multiple times in the head and body while J.P was handcuffed and shackled in the back of a patrol car and was not resisting," according to the indictment.
According to another charge, Boen ordered a person identified as B.E. to the sheriff's office on Nov. 21, 2018. He "pushed B.E. onto the floor, and grabbed B.E.'s hair or beard," the indictment says.
According to the indictment, on another occasion, "Boen struck Z.G. multiple times in the head while Z.G. was shackled to a bench in the Franklin County Jail and not resisting."
If convicted, the sheriff could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, according to the office of Duane Kees, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas.
Boen was released on an unsecured bond of $5,000 with conditions.
Boen is prohibited from being on the premises of the sheriff's office and he must relinquish all duties as sheriff except for signing employee checks, which will be delivered to his residence by jail administrator Jimmy Dorney, according to the order setting conditions of release.
Additional conditions say Boen cannot possess a firearm, destructive device or other weapon; use alcohol excessively; use or unlawfully possess a narcotic drug or other controlled substances unless prescribed by a licensed medical practitioner; and he cannot purchase, possess, use, distribute or administer marijuana, or obtain or possess a medical marijuana card or prescription.
Boen's jury trial was set for Feb. 3 at 9 a.m.
Efforts to reach Rickey Bowman, the county judge of Franklin County, were unsuccessful. He was in a meeting and could not take the initial call, and later a staff member said he was not in his office but had gotten the message to call the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
He did not return the call Tuesday.
Christopher Brockett, Franklin County's civil attorney, told television station KFSM that two sheriff's office officials will run the department.
"The chief deputy will be responsible for the law enforcement side of things," he told KFSM. "The jail administrator will be responsible for the jail itself and operations of the jail itself."
Magistrate Judge Mark Ford presided over the arraignment. The case, investigated by the FBI, is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Carter of the Western District of Arkansas, as well as Michael J. Songer of the office's civil-rights division.
Franklin County -- known for its wineries, including those in Altus and Wiederkehr -- has about 18,000 residents.
As sheriff, Boen ran the jail and the public safety part of the sheriff's office.
A Section on 12/18/2019