A former New Castle County police corporal has been sentenced to one year of probation after repeatedly pulling on a 16-year-old girl’s hair and dragging her up a hallway by her handcuffs on her stomach, according to the Delaware News Journal. Michael Carnevale pleaded guilty and also agreed to never seek employment with law enforcement in the future.
Video footage of the incident is just as disturbing to watch as it sounds. In one clip, the teenage Black girl is being taken into custody and begins resisting Carnevale as he takes her to a holding room. As the two struggle, she drops to the ground and Carnevale grips her hair to pull her back up. Another officer joins him to shove her into the room. In another video, Carnevale drags the girl up the entire hallway by her handcuffs while she’s on her stomach.
Reports say a fellow officer reported the use of excessive force the day it happened, August 30, 2021 and the very next day, an investigation began.
More on the incident from Delaware News Journal:
Carnevale, who had been with the department since 2005, completed a single-page crime report detailing a video arraignment, but did not mention any resistance by the victim or any police use of force, the Justice Department said. Carnevale also did not complete a use-of-force report.
Carnevale was suspended pending the outcome of the internal investigation and retired from the Police Department on Oct. 3 — prior to the end of the department’s investigation and before any disciplinary action could be taken.
The former officer was indicted in December on three misdemeanor charges: offensive touching, official misconduct and falsifying business records.
He pleaded guilty to offensive touching, which carried a maximum sentence of 30 days in prison and a fine. His other charges were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea, which occurred a few days before his trial was scheduled to start on Monday.
Carnevale’s offense was just one of a few that have occurred among Delaware police officers. Two former Wilmington officers were indicted on charges: Samuel Waters was indicted on charges of tampering with public records and perjury and Brandon Cooper faces charges of sexual solicitation of a child, per the News Journal.
County Police Chief Col. Joseph Bloch said the actions of Carnevale don’t reflect the values of the New Castle County Police.
“Although I am disgusted that this incident took place, I am pleased that through the hard work of the Department of Justice – Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust and our internal investigators, Mr. Carnevale was held accountable for his actions and will never serve in law enforcement again,” said Bloch in a statement.