An Indiana cop whose dad was the police chief receives 10-year prison sentence for beating up suspects

• A federal judge sentenced a former Indiana police officer to 10 years in prison Wednesday.
• Chase Winkle pleaded guilty to civil rights and obstruction charges.

A federal judge sentenced a former police officer to 10 years in prison after he repeatedly beat up arrest subjects while his dad was the chief of police.

The judge sentenced Chase Winkle, of the Muncie Police Department in Indiana, in federal court on Wednesday, according to court records.

Winkle pleaded guilty in December 2022 to five civil rights charges for assaulting arrestees and six obstruction charges for writing false reports to cover up his crimes, according to a Department of Justice news release.

DOJ Civil Rights Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said in a statement that Winkle was the son of the Muncie police chief, and that he repeatedly used excessive force against arrest subjects.

"This defendant's misconduct injured his victims and undermined the police department's credibility with the community," Clark said. "We hope that this guilty plea sends a message that neither a badge nor familial connections will shield an officer from facing justice for his wrongdoing."

Prosecutors accused Winkle of slamming his knee into the neck of a man who was handcuffed on the ground before Tasing the man in the back because the man directed an insult toward Winkle during an arrest.

The government also accused Winkle of slapping, kicking, and punching several other arrestees over the course of nine months.

Prosecutors said that in one 2018 incident, Winkle kicked a man in the abdomen and head as he bent down to the ground a Winkle's command, knocking him unconscious. Prosecutors identified the victim only as "I.P."

"As I.P. tried to steady himself against the fence, Winkle delivered a second kick directly to I.P.'s head, knocking I.P. unconscious," the DOJ news release said. "Shortly after the arrest, Winkle wrote a false report about the incident."

Jeremy Gibson, another former Muncie Police officer, was also sentenced to 14 months in prison on Wednesday, according to court records. Gibson pleaded guilty to a federal civil rights offense for punching and knee-striking a driver, and an obstruction offense for writing a false report about the incident.