Two Former LMPD Officers Guilty of Conspiracy to Violate Civil Rights

USPA NEWS - Two former Louisville Metropolitan Police Department (LMPD) officers charged with conspiring to violate the civil rights of Louisville pedestrians through the arbitrary use of force pled guilty in federal court today.

One of them also pled guilty to engaging in a cyberstalking conspiracy to hack computer applications for compromising photographs of female victims and then using those photographs to extort additional compromising photographs from the victims.

Bryan Andrew Wilson, 36, and Curt Flynn, 40, both pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to violate civil rights in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 241.

According to court documents, from August 2018 through September 2019 and while working as detectives with the LMPD Ninth Mobile Division, Wilson and Flynn engaged in a conspiracy to violate the civil rights of numerous civilians in Louisville through oppression and intimidation. As part of the conspiracy, Wilson, Flynn, and others, while on duty, dressed in clothing identifying them as LMPD officers, and driving unmarked LMPD vehicles, assaulted and attempted to assault civilian John Does and Jane Does by throwing large beverages, including the container and/or its contents, at the civilians. Wilson and Flynn would obtain the beverages, bring them into their cars, and then, after identifying a target, Wilson, Flynn, or another driver of the unmarked LMPD vehicle, would slow down and drive closer to the sidewalk or the edge of the street where the civilian was located.

At various points Wilson or Flynn would announce on the police radio words to the effect of, “someone was thirsty” or “thirsty fam,” and then Wilson or Flynn would throw the beverage, including the container and/or its contents, at the targeted civilian, and the driver of the unmarked LMPD vehicle would then accelerate the car and flee the scene.

On many occasions, the civilian was hit with the beverage, and on at least one occasion, a civilian was knocked down to the ground from the impact of being hit with the beverage and container. Wilson and Flynn would record or instruct others to record their actions on video using their cell phones, sometimes from inside the car from which the beverage was thrown, and sometimes from an LMPD car following closely behind the car from which the beverage was thrown. Wilson subsequently displayed these videos to other members of the LMPD Ninth Mobile Unit.

Wilson also pled guilty today in a separate case to one count of conspiracy to commit cyberstalking in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371 and 2261A(2)(B). According to court documents in Wilson’s second case, between September and October 2020, Wilson conspired with others to use an electronic communication service with the intent to harass and intimidate another person, and to engage in conduct that caused substantial emotional distress to another person. As part of the conspiracy, Wilson identified computer applications belonging to women and hacked those computer applications and stole compromising photographs, videos, and other information. Wilson then contacted the women via text messages and threatened to publish the stolen compromising photographs and videos unless those women provided additional compromising material to him. Throughout the course of the cyberstalking conspiracy, Wilson had at least six female victims from whom he stole compromising photographs, videos and other information and attempted to extort additional material on threat of publication.

Wilson and Flynn are both scheduled to be sentenced on September 30, 2022. Wilson faces a combined maximum penalty of 15 years in prison on both cases. Flynn faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. There is no parole in the federal system. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI’s Louisville Field Office made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the cases.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Weiser and Stephanie Zimdahl are prosecuting the cases.

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Wendy writes for the United States Press Agency and is a former columnist with the Fulton County Expositor, Wauseon, Ohio.

Source: Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Kentucky press release June 21, 2022