Policeman Pepper Sprayed Handcuffed Man

(CN) - A Louisiana police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to using excessive force when he pepper sprayed an arrested man without reason.

"No one in this country, including law enforcement officers, is above the law" said David Douglas, a U.S. Attorney General for the Middle District of Louisiana.

Nathan Davis admitted that in March 2007 he purposefully used excessive force against an arrested man who was handcuffed in a holding center, which is a felony civil rights violation.

The Department of Justice did not release the name of the arrested man.

The officer is a member of the Baton Rouge Police Department, in Louisiana.

"When a police officer, like the defendant, misuses his authority to abuse a person entrusted to his care, he violates the public trust and he makes it more difficult for other law enforcement officers to do their very difficult jobs," said Loretta King, the Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Davis faces a maximum 10 year prison sentence, but the sentencing has not been scheduled.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Piedrahita and Civil Rights Division Attorney Kathleen Monaghan.

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