A former chief deputy for the Hertford County Sheriff’s Office has been indicted federally for allegedly violating an inmate’s civil rights.

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina Thomas G. Walker and Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez announced today that Timothy Lassiter was indicted for striking an inmate while acting under color of law in June of this year.

According to the indictment, on June 12 Lassiter struck and assaulted an inmate, who was a pretrial detainee. The assault resulted in bodily injury to the inmate and violated his due process rights. If Lassiter is convicted of this charge, he will face a maximum punishment of 10 years of imprisonment.

Assistant United States Attorney Toby Lathan and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Betsy Biffl will prosecute the case.