In July 2004, Lester Eugene Siler, 42, was brutalized by five rogue police officers in his Duff, Tennessee, home. Siler, who is illiterate, was beaten and held at gunpoint, had his head held underwater in a toilet, and was threatened with shooting and electrocution after refusing to sign a search consent form that he could not read. The officers also threatened to attach a battery charger to Siler's testicles and to burn him with a lighter.
Siler is a convicted drug dealer serving 11 years of probation and had previously agreed to act as an informant for the county sheriff's office. The unofficial raid was prompted after neighbors suspected he might have resumed selling drugs.
All five officers were fired when Siler's wife revealed she had captured 45 minutes of the torture on audiotape. In July 2005, the officers received sentences ranging from four to six years in prison for their involvement in the assault.
