Original Article Ex-cops get time in beating Former Mt. Clemens officers sentenced for road rage, lies June 9, 2005 BY DAVID ASHENFELTER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER Two former Mt. Clemens police officers were sentenced to prison and time in a federal halfway house Wednesday for covering up the 2002 road-rage beating of a motorist. "I have agonized about this case for a year," U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds said Wednesday before sentencing Patrick Carson to 33 months in prison. She later sentenced Robert Hey to 6 months in a federal halfway house followed by 6 months of house arrest and 2 years of probation. Carson, 36, who was convicted of depriving the motorist of his civil rights, conspiring to obstruct justice by writing false police reports and lying about the incident, drew the longer sentence because he played a lead role in the beating and cover-up. The victim was a 24-year-old college student who got into a traffic dispute with Hey, who was off duty. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Hurley said in court papers that Carson's personnel file is littered with citizen complaints about excessive use of force. He said superiors had warned Carson about his behavior, but he failed to change. "I've been a good cop all my life," a tearful Carson told Edmunds. "These people have been bad-mouthing me the whole trial. I wish the man had pulled out a gun and killed me." Carson said the incident has destroyed his life. He said he used force because he thought the motorist was armed. Hey, 30, convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury for lying to a federal grand jury, received a lighter sentence because he wasn't involved in the beating. Hey's lawyer, James Thomas of Detroit, asked for leniency, calling Hey a good husband and police officer whose life has been devastated by the conviction. Thomas said Hey has become an electrical contractor since leaving the police force in 2003. Carson, Hey and two other officers were convicted by a jury last June of beating Robert Paxton, then a University of Detroit Mercy graduate student, during a July 2002 traffic stop. A fifth officer pleaded guilty, and a sixth was acquitted. Testimony indicated Paxton was northbound on Gratiot when he and Hey got into a traffic dispute that escalated. Hey called the police station on a handheld radio for help. Witnesses said officers yanked Paxton out of his truck and punched and kicked him, although he offered no resistance. The officers wrote false reports and had Paxton arrested on bogus charges of obstructing a police officer, fleeing police and assaulting Hey with a dangerous weapon -- his truck. The prosecutor dropped the charges nine months later. Paxton expressed mixed emotions about the sentences. "With respect to Carson, I'm satisfied, but for Hey, who put it all in motion, I'm not happy at all," Paxton said, adding that Hey saw the beating and turned his head. Paxton is suing Mt. Clemens and the officers for $5 million in Macomb County Circuit Court. He said the arrest record has kept him from landing a job with a Fortune 500 company; he runs a software telephone support team for a Detroit-area firm. Edmunds said she will decide later whether to order the men to pay restitution to Paxton, who is seeking $35,000 for medical bills, legal costs and economic damages. Thomas and Carson's lawyer, Steve Fishman, said they plan to appeal. Both men will remain free on bond. Three other officers are to be sentenced later this month. Contact DAVID ASHENFELTER at 313-223-4490 or ashenf@freepress.com http://www.freep.com/news/statewire/sw116942_20050609.htm Judge sentences Mount Clemens officers in beating, cover-up June 9, 2005, 4:27 AM DETROIT (AP) -- A federal judge has sentenced two former Mount Clemens police officers on charges in the road-rage beating of a motorist and a subsequent cover-up. Five officers were convicted and one acquitted. U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds on Wednesday sentenced Patrick Carson to two years, nine months in prison and Robert Hey to six months in a halfway house followed by six months of house arrest. The men remain free while they appeal the convictions. Carson, 36, was convicted of violation of civil rights, conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to the FBI. Hey, 30, was convicted of obstruction of justice and perjury. Robert Paxton, then a 24-year-old University of Detroit Mercy graduate student, got into a traffic dispute with Hey, who was off duty, in 2002. Witnesses said officers yanked Paxton from his truck and punched and kicked him, although he offered no resistance. "I've been a good cop all my life," a tearful Carson told Edmunds. "These people have been bad-mouthing me the whole trial. I wish the man had pulled out a gun and killed me." The prosecution said Carson had a record of excessive force complaints. Defense lawyer James Thomas called Hey a good husband and officer whose life was devastated by the conviction. On June 25, 2004, a jury convicted Carson, Hey and brothers Robert and Peter Jacquemain. Duane Poucher pleaded guilty and testified against the others. The Jacquemains face sentencing Tuesday and Poucher on June 20. The jury acquitted Daniel Gerkey. Copyright 2005 Detroit Free Press Inc