- Stephanie Mohr, a former Maryland K-9 police officer, was among 29 people to whom President Donald Trump issued pardons or commutations on Wednesday.
- Mohr served 10 years in prison after being convicted of violating federal civil rights for throwing his police dog at an unarmed homeless person in 1995.
- The man, Ricardo Mendez, was sleeping on the roof of a business that police officers were watching as part of a theft investigation. The attack on him resulted in a bite that required 10 points.
- Earlier this month, Mohr appeared on Newsmax, a conservative pro-Trump agency, to plead for his forgiveness.
- She said she was made a scapegoat when an FBI investigation into brutality in her police department did not result in further convictions.
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A former Maryland K-9 police officer who served 10 years in prison for placing his police dog on a homeless person was among 29 people who received pardons or commutations from President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Stephanie Mohr was 30 years old in 2001 when she was convicted of a civil rights violation. On September 21, 1995, Mohr set his police dog against Ricardo Mendez while the police investigated a theft. The dog tore off a piece of his leg, The Washington Post reported.
It turned out that Mendez was not a thief – he was sleeping on the roof of the business that the police were watching that night.
“She served 10 years in prison for freeing her partner K-9 from a suspected robbery in 1995, resulting in a bite that required ten stitches,” the White House said in a statement about Mohr’s pardon on Wednesday. “Officer Mohr was a highly praised member of the police force prior to her prosecution.
“Today’s action recognizes this service and the long term that Ms. Mohr has done in prison.”
– National Police Fraternal Order (FOP) (@GLFOP) December 24, 2020
Earlier this month, Mohr appeared on Newsmax, a conservative pro-Trump news outlet, to plead her case for a presidential pardon, saying she had been the scapegoat.
Mohr said the charges were made the day before they were set to expire under the statute of limitations. She also said she was targeted because a federal brutality investigation at the Prince George County Police Department did not result in any further convictions.
She called her 10-year sentence “tough”. She also said that she had a 2-year-old son when she was sentenced and was separated from him for most of her childhood.
“I took 10 years, basically one year for each point the suspect received on the calf,” she said.
Mohr was traveling with his parents and partner on Wednesday when he learned that he had received forgiveness, USA Today reported.
“So many emotions flooded me. It was a long, long, long battle for that. I am very grateful,” she told the outlet.
The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund and the National Fraternal Order of Police, the largest police union in the United States, helped to press for Mohr’s forgiveness. The National Fraternal Order of Police approved Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Among the other 28 people to whom Trump granted pardons and commutations on Wednesday were Roger Stone, the longtime Republican strategist who was convicted of seven crimes last year; Paul Manafort, his former campaign president who was sentenced last year to 7 ½ years in prison for multiple crimes; and Charles Kushner, the father of Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Charles Kushner was convicted of tax crimes, tampering with witnesses and illegal campaign contributions.
Trump also forgave or commuted the sentence of 20 other people on Tuesday. They included two Trump campaign associates who were caught in the FBI investigation in Russia, four Blackwater guards who were convicted of killing Iraqi civilians and two Border Patrol agents who were accused of shooting an unarmed and covered-up immigrant. it.