Indiana cop squeezed wrongly detained suspect's testicles as a method of 'pain compliance': report

On Friday, Law & Crimereported that a suspended Indianapolis police officer faces criminal charges for allegedly squeezing a wrongfully detained suspect's genitals, causing him distress and injury.

"According to Marion County, Indiana court records, Travis Lewis, 32, is accused of official misconduct (a Level 6 Felony), battery resulting in bodily injury (a Class A Misdemeanor), and another count of battery resulting in bodily injury (also a Class A Misdemeanor)," reported Aaron Keller. "Court papers allege that Lewis grabbed the genitals of a suspect named Paul Johnson 'resulting in bodily injury, that is: pain.' The documents further allege that Lewis 'did knowingly touch Paul Johnson in a rude, insolent, or angry manner by throwing Paul Johnson to the ground while handcuffed, resulting in bodily injury, that is: a laceration and/or pain.'"

"'My balls!' Johnson can be heard saying on body camera videos which captured the Feb. 10, 2022 incident from several angles," continued the report. "Reviewing officers suggested via the affidavit that Lewis appeared to have used his 'hand ... to grab and squeeze the genitals as pain compliance in order to elicit cooperative behavior from Mr. Johnson.'"

According to the Indianapolis Star, Johnson had been mistakenly stopped because of a protective order that was no longer even active in relation to a case that had been dismissed.

This comes amid reports of police misconduct all around the country. In Colorado, there are roughly 2,000 complaints about police misconduct that the state lacks the resources to even investigate. And in Austin, Texas, nine police officers were charged with excessive force during 2020 protests, although Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has hinted at pardoning them.