A former New Castle County police corporal who pleaded guilty to repeatedly pulling a 16-year-old girl’s hair while she was being held at the department’s prisoner processing center last year has been sentenced to one year of probation.
Michael Carnevale, whose probation will be suspended upon completion of anger management courses and community service, declined to comment following his sentencing Thursday afternoon at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington. Carnevale, who wore khaki pants, a striped button-down shirt and sported a beard, walked out of the courthouse with his attorney.
The investigation into Carnevale’s actions began on Aug. 31 after a fellow officer witnessed the excessive use of force and reported it to a commander, county police said.
According to a separate Delaware Department of Justice release, the incident occurred on Aug. 30 when the girl became disorderly and resistant while she was at the police station.
Background:Former county officer indicted after police say he used excessive force against teen girl
“The evidence revealed that Carnevale repeatedly pulled and attempted to lift the victim by her hair, and dragged her in a prone position nearly 50 feet along the ground by the chain of the handcuffs fastened behind her back,” the Justice Department’s statement said.
Carnevale, who had been with the department since 2005, completed a single-page crime report detailing a video arraignment, but did not mention any resistance by the victim or any police use of force, the Justice Department said. Carnevale also did not complete a use-of-force report.
Carnevale was suspended pending the outcome of the internal investigation and retired from the police department on Oct. 3 — prior to the end of the department’s investigation and before any disciplinary action could be taken.
The former officer was indicted in December on three misdemeanor charges: offensive touching, official misconduct and falsifying business records.
He pleaded guilty to offensive touching, which carried a maximum sentence of 30 days in prison and a fine. His other charges were dismissed in exchange for his guilty plea, which occurred a few days before his trial was scheduled to start on Monday.
His sentence came immediately after he pleaded guilty on Thursday.
This is a developing story. Check back with delawareonline.com for more information.
Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.
