Sentencing date set for former Russell deputy

Montgomery, Al.
A federal judge has set a January sentencing date for a former Russell County sheriff’s deputy convicted of beating a handcuffed man in 2010.

Former deputy Tim Watford, who remains free on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Jan. 6, 2012, at the federal courthouse complex in Montgomery, according to court documents.

Watford was convicted of deprivation of rights under the color of the law and aiding and abetting for his part in the beating of Patrick C. Harrington as he lay in handcuffs in the parking lot of a Smiths Station business on Nov. 26, 2010. The charge carries a possible sentence of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

After three days of testimony, a federal jury took about four hours on Sept. 1 to find Watford guilty of acting as a law enforcement officer when he and fellow former Russell County sheriff’s deputy Kirby Dollar assaulted Harrington.

Harrington had been detained by bail bondsmen for jumping bond on a drug paraphernalia charge. Dollar and Watford, who were off duty at the time, were accused of punching, kicking and choking Harrington while former Phenix City narcotics investigator Rachel Hauser and the bondsmen watched.

Watford pleaded not guilty after being indicted by a federal grand jury in March.

After initially pleading not guilty with Watford, Dollar changed his plea to guilty as part of an agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s office in exchange for a possible reduced sentence and no further charges.

Dollar is scheduled to be sentenced Nov. 18 in Montgomery.

The two former deputies, Hauser, former Russell County Sheriff Tommy Boswell and the city of Phenix City are being sued for the beating by Harrington, who is asking for $1 million in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages from each defendant.