HOMER, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Louisiana police chief was arrested for the second time due to an ongoing civil rights investigation.
A grand jury issued an indictment with two new counts of malfeasance of office during a bond hearing for Homer Police Chief Van McDaniel on Tuesday.
The hearing was about the bond set after McDaniel’s arrest in Nov. 2023, which also linked to the arrest of Gregory Moak.
McDaniel, along with other officers from the Patrol Division, arrested Moak, a suspected thief, in Dec. 2022. Officers booked him on several charges, including resisting an officer, theft, and entering and remaining after being forbidden.
In Feb. 2023, Moak filed a civil rights complaint alleging excessive use of force and physical brutality during his arrest. Judge McClusky stayed proceedings in April pending the criminal trial’s outcome.
Investigators reviewed evidence and concluded that McDaniel used excessive force by deploying a taser multiple times on a non-combative subject, handcuffed behind his back and lying on the ground.
Following his November arrest, McDaniel was indicted on one count of aggravated battery and one count of malfeasance in office. His bond was set at $200,000.
According to the Claiborne Parish Clerk of Court, the District Attorney recused himself from the case.
The clerk stated McDaniel was out on bond until Tuesday’s hearing.
