State Police trooper accused of using belt to beat boy
by The Bay City Times
Thursday March 05, 2009, 12:38 PM
CARO - Prosecutors allege a Michigan State Police trooper beat an 8-year-old boy with a belt while on duty, and the trooper could go to prison if convicted of a charge connected to the alleged crime.
The Michigan Attorney General's office has charged Trooper Patrick L. Sharkey, 56, with misconduct in office, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
Lawyers with the attorney general's office also charged Sharkey, of the state police post at Caro, with assault and battery. Prosecutors allege the crimes occurred Nov. 12, 2008, in Tuscola County's Ellington Township.
Prosecutors arraigned Sharkey, of Bridgeport, in Tuscola County District Court on Thursday. Judge Kim David Glaspie released Sharkey on his own recognizance pending an April 3 hearing on the evidence.
The charges follow an internal investigation by Michigan State Police officers, according to 1st Lt. Douglas Lautner, commander of the Caro post.
Sharkey has been suspended from duty pending disposition of the criminal charges and Michigan State Police administrative proceedings, according to Lautner.
Home 