WASHINGTON — A former Fairmount Heights, Maryland police officer was sentenced Wednesday to 74 months in federal prison after being convicted of violating a man’s civil rights by using excessive force during a 2019 traffic stop, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.
Philip Dupree, 40, was found guilty by a federal jury on June 17 of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law. In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Dupree to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, the incident occurred on August 4, 2019, in Washington, D.C., when Dupree conducted a traffic stop on Eastern Avenue NE. After detaining the driver and the driver’s sister, Dupree pepper-sprayed the driver while he was handcuffed and seated in the back of a police vehicle…