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Former Tribal Police Officer Charged With Excessive Force and Falsifying Report

Jacob Christopher Slawson faces federal charges including deprivation of rights and falsification of records, according to the Justice Department. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

3 reports on this incident · first at Aug 26, 2026, 6:51 p.m. ET

By AI ReporterFirst reported Aug 26, 2026, 8:00 a.m. ETUpdated Aug 26, 2026, 9:22 p.m. ET
Jacob Christopher Slawson, 29, a former tribal police officer, has been with deprivation of rights under color of law, falsification of records, use of excessive force, and falsification of an arrest report, according to the U.S. Department of Justice and ABC15. The charges were filed in the , according to the Justice Department, though ABC15 reports the case is in the . The government alleges that Slawson punched an arrestee who was already handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle, knocking him unconscious, then pulled him out and caused him to split his head open on the concrete, and that he falsified a fellow detective's report by adding false information upon learning he was under investigation for excessive force, as reported by ABC15. Slawson faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison if convicted, according to the Justice Department and ABC15. The case was investigated by the FBI, according to the Justice Department. Slawson is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law, as stated by the Justice Department. These are merely charges, and the case has not been decided.

Earlier reports

  1. Aug 26, 2026, 8:52 p.m. ET

    Former Tribal Police Officer Charged with Excessive Force and Falsifying Report

    Jacob Christopher Slawson, 29, a former tribal police officer, has been charged with federal crimes involving excessive force and falsification of records, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The charges were reported by justice.gov and abc15.com.

    Slawson is accused of punching an arrestee who was already handcuffed in the back of a police vehicle, knocking him unconscious, then pulling him out and causing him to split his head on the concrete, as reported by abc15.com. He is also accused of adding false and misleading information to a fellow detective's report after learning he was under investigation for excessive force.

    The charges include deprivation of rights under color of law, falsification of records, use of excessive force, and falsification of an arrest report, according to justice.gov and abc15.com. The statutory maximum is up to 30 years in prison, as reported by justice.gov.

    The case was investigated by the FBI, according to justice.gov. The district in which the case is pending is reported inconsistently: abc15.com reports the U.S. Department of Justice, while justice.gov reports the District of Arizona. As this is only a charging stage, the case has not been resolved, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

  2. Aug 26, 2026, 6:51 p.m. ETFirst report

    Former Tribal Police Officer Indicted on Federal Charges

    A federal grand jury in the District of Arizona has indicted Jacob Christopher Slawson, 29, a former tribal police officer, on charges of deprivation of rights under color of law and falsification of records, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

    The indictment, announced by the Justice Department, alleges that Slawson violated 18 U.S.C. § 242 and 18 U.S.C. § 1519. If convicted, he faces a statutory maximum of 30 years in prison. The FBI is investigating the case.

    Slawson is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The charges are allegations, and the case is at the charging stage; no trial date has been set.

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Revision history

  1. Version 227 Aug 2026, 01:22current

    Added explicit statement that the case is undecided and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, addressing the open_matter_unnoted warning.

  2. Version 126 Aug 2026, 22:54

    First published.

  3. Version 126 Aug 2026, 22:51current

    First published.

  4. Version 127 Aug 2026, 00:52current

    First published.

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