BOSTON (WHDH) - A former Hadley police officer was sentenced to two years behind bars Thursday after a federal jury found him guilty of using unreasonable force during a 2017 arrest and then falsifying his report.
Christopher Roeder, 50, of Agawam, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 14 months in prison and one year of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling announced.
Authorities say Roeder was a Hadley police officer on April 3, 2017 when he struck a man he had arrested in the face with his elbow, bouncing the man’s head off a concrete wall. The blow broke the man’s nose in multiple places, which required reconstructive surgery.
He then lied on the police report about the incident.
The town subsequently fired him.
“Officers aren’t only expected to enforce the law in their communities, they are expected to follow it themselves,” Lelling said in a statement. “In this case, an officer broke a man’s nose for no legitimate purpose and then, in an effort to cover up the attack, falsified official documents about the incident. This behavior is unacceptable in someone entrusted with protecting the public safety.”
A federal jury found him guilty of the charges in February of last year.
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