By Kristy Tallman, June 28, 2024
MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA – Former Elmore County, Alabama, Sheriff’s Deputy Blake Hicks, 33, was sentenced today to 29 months in prison and three years of supervised release for depriving an arrestee of his civil rights under color of law.
According to documents and statements made in court, Hicks willfully used unreasonable force against an arrestee. Specifically, without legal justification, Hicks punched and kicked the arrestee in or around the head while the arrestee was handcuffed and incapacitated on the ground. The arrestee suffered a broken cheekbone, concussion, and lacerations from Hicks’ assault.
The Montgomery Advertiser reported that the victim was Tristen Quinn, who was 25 at the time of the incident at a gas station on U.S. 231 in Wetumpka. Wetumpka police had pulled Quinn over for having a tag light out, and Hicks and another Elmore deputy went to the scene as backup.
After Quinn refused to provide his ID, an officer placed him in the back of a patrol vehicle. When Quinn attempted to run away minutes later, the officers chased after him and deployed a stun gun, at which point he fell to the ground on his back.