Ex-Mass. police captain indicted in connection with assault during March 2023 arrest
A former Lawrence police captain was indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges accusing him of violating the rights of a Black man during an arrest over a noise complaint in March 2023, then falsifying police reports about the incident.
Michael Mangan is charged with two counts each of deprivation of rights under color of law and making a false report, court records show. He is set to make an initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday afternoon.
An indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Mangan's case alludes to a March 10, 2023, arrest where, according to the filing, Mangan "assaulted arrestee Victim 1, willfully depriving Victim 1 of the right ... to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a law enforcement officer."
While federal prosecutors did not name the man, Sodiq Folarin Amusat, a 29-year-old Black man, has sued Mangan and the city in federal court in connection with an arrest on March 10, 2023.
Mangan is also accused of concealing the assault by filing a false report in which he claimed the victim "slightly turned and bladed his body" toward him, "and simultaneously threw his right arm toward [Mangan's] face with his fingers in a grabbing motion."
In the report, Mangan claimed the victim demonstrated "assaultive action" and there was an "imminent threat" of the victim grabbing his face, leading to Mangan using a "straight arm take down" with his right arm on the victim's chest.
The grand jury also found Mangan filed a false report when he claimed the reason for using force was the victim's "assaultive" conduct, according to the indictment.
Amusat, in the civil rights suit, presented a different narrative.
"During the booking process, Mangan, a white Captain of the Lawrence Police Department, suddenly and without warning, viciously 'clotheslined' Mr. Amusat," his suit reads. "Mangan's unprovoked attack drove Mr. Amusat's head into a metal door and onto the concrete floor. Mr. Amusat was then needlessly tackled, forcibly pressed onto the ground and handcuffed."
The incident was captured on surveillance video, screenshots of which are included in the complaint.
Mangan is listed as an "unassociated officer" in the POST Commission's database of officer statuses, which notes that he is no longer certified to work in law enforcement. He retired in early January, The Boston Globe reported.
Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker's office hired an independent investigator to review the incident and ultimately declined to pursue charges against Mangan, the Globe reported.
A spokesperson for Tucker's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the indictment.
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