AG indicts Wilm. ex-cop who slammed man’s head into wall

The Delaware Department of Justice’s Division of Civil Rights and Public Trust has indicted a former Wilmington police officer after internet posts showing the officer using excessive force went viral on social media. 

The division opened an investigation into Samuel Waters, 27, after discovering footage of a Sept. 21, 2021 incident during which he repeatedly forced a man’s head against a plexiglass window, causing lacerations and bruising.

VIDEO: Wilmington Officer Slamming Man’s Face Into Wall, NBC 10 Philadelphia 

During the course of its investigation, the division discovered that Waters had failed to activate his body-worn camera when he should have. A Monday press release from the Department of Justice said his failure to turn on the body-cam was a regular practice for him.

Waters is also alleged to have lied in the official documentation of the incident. 

Just nine days prior to that altercation, Waters was allegedly involved in another excessive force incident wherein he used his nightstick to repeatedly apply pressure on the back of a victim’s neck, pushing their face into the back of a vehicle and causing injuries. 

Attorney General Kathy Jennings said the evidence shows a “clear and disturbing pattern of violence and deception.”

“The defendant repeatedly abused a position of trust and authority and then subsequently lied about it,” Jennings said. “We don’t tolerate this kind of misconduct by anyone — let alone from someone who swore an oath to protect his community — and we will prosecute his crimes to the fullest extent of the law.”

Waters faces the following charges, carrying a total potential sentence of zero to 13 years in prison:

• One count of Tampering With Public Records 1st Degree, a Class E Felony
• One count of Perjury 2nd Degree, a Class F Felony
• Three counts of Assault 3rd Degree, a Class A Misdemeanor
• Two counts of Official Misconduct, a Class A Misdemeanor
• One count of Falsifying a Business Record, a Class A Misdemeanor