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Dover cop indicted on assault charges

Cpl. Thomas Webster

A Kent County grand jury has indicted a Dover police officer on a felony assault charge over an alleged confrontation that left a man unconscious and with a broken jaw in August 2013.

A camera in a Dover police car captured Corporal Thomas Webster responding to a reported fight at a gas station, holding a suspect, Lateef Dickerson at gunpoint.

Police say Dickerson eventually complied, but that Webster then kicked him in the head rendering him unconscious before arresting him.

Webster was put on paid leave during the investigation. A grand jury at the time eventually decided not to press charges and he returned to the force in June 2014.

An internal investigation found Webster’s actions “were outside of Dover Police Department policy” and that the agency took action. Police officials didn’t elaborate on any punishment.

The case is also the subject of a 2014 civil rights suit filed by the Delaware American Civil Liberties Union currently pending.

Another man, Stephen DiFlorio, has also accused the department of police brutality, filing a civil rights lawsuit earlier this year.

Webster is now on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of the case. He turned himself in and was released on a $5,000 unsecured bond.