After second trial, jury convicts San Diego County deputy who seriously injured restrained inmate

Following a mistrial last month after a federal jury was unable to agree on a verdict, a second jury on Friday convicted a San Diego County sheriff’s deputy of violating a detainee’s civil rights by forcefully shoving the heavily restrained man headfirst into a wall, resulting in a head wound and serious spinal injury to the victim.

The jury deliberated just two hours Friday afternoon before finding Jeremiah Manuyag Flores, 45, guilty on charges of deprivation of rights under the color of law and falsifying a record in a federal investigation.

After Flores’ first trial last month, the jury deliberated for parts of three days before announcing they were deadlocked. U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez subsequently declared a mistrial. Prosecutors retried Flores beginning Monday in San Diego federal court.

“Today’s verdict makes one thing unmistakably clear: the badge does not excuse brutality,” San Diego-area U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in a statement. “When an officer abuses power and inflicts harm on someone in their custody, it is a crime — and this office will hold them accountable.”