Former San Diego Deputy Sentenced to 57 Months for Shoving Shackled Detainee
The punishment underscores federal efforts to hold officers criminally accountable when excessive force and record‑falsification violate a detainee's civil rights.
Overview
- Jeremiah Manuyag Flores was sentenced Tuesday and ordered to report to federal prison by August 18 to begin a 57‑month term.
- Prosecutors said Flores shoved a 57‑year‑old pretrial detainee known as J.P. from behind while the man was leg‑shackled and cross‑chained, causing him to strike a wall and suffer a fractured spinal column that required surgery and months of hospitalization.
- A federal jury convicted Flores in December 2025 after a retrial that followed an earlier hung jury, finding him guilty of deprivation of rights under color of law and falsifying records in a federal investigation after about two hours of deliberation.
- The San Diego County Sheriff's Office administratively terminated Flores on June 9 and officials say his convictions bar him from future work in law enforcement at any level.
- Federal prosecutors and the FBI said the sentence enforces civil‑rights protections and could increase scrutiny of courthouse custody and reporting practices where restrained detainees rely on officers for care.