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Former Dewey Beach officer pleads guilty in 2019 assault

Gregory Lynch stripped of badge and gun
September 22, 2021

A former Dewey Beach officer pleaded guilty Sept. 22 in regard to a 2019 incident in which he punched a man on a stretcher.

The Delaware Attorney General’s Office Division of Civil Rights & Public Trust convicted Gregory Lynch for assaulting an innocent, injured person, and then lying to the court to have the victim incarcerated, said Attorney General Kathy Jennings.

“Abuse of authority, brutality, and dishonesty are cardinal sins for any law enforcement officer,” Jennings said. “The defendant’s violent acts harmed his victim and made it harder for his honorable colleagues to do their important work. Today, the defendant becomes a felon who will never carry a badge or a gun again. Our thoughts are with his victim, and our thanks are with the EMTs and fellow police who did the right thing by stepping forward to blow the whistle on his actions.”

The division moved to indict Lynch following an August 2019 incident in which Lynch climbed onto a stretcher and repeatedly punched an injured, unaggressive victim in the face. Other officers present told investigators that the punches were powerful enough to spray blood from the victim’s face onto their uniforms. Lynch then handcuffed the victim to the stretcher and pulled him into an ambulance by his head. The victim was later diagnosed with a concussion, a broken nose, multiple hematomas, and lacerations to his face. 

After the beating, Lynch falsely claimed in a sworn affidavit that the victim had committed strangulation and two counts of offensive touching of a law enforcement officer, telling a fellow officer, “That’s what I do when they don’t comply – I make them felons.” Lynch’s lies were discovered days later when EMTs and fellow police came forward to attest to the truth.

Lynch pleaded guilty to second-degree perjury, a felony, and third-degree assault. Under the victim-supported plea, Lynch will serve one year of Level 3 probation. He also loses his Council on Police Training certification, permanently banning him from serving as a police officer again. As a result of the felony conviction, Lynch is prohibited from buying or possessing a firearm. 

The former officer also faces a federal lawsuit filed July 15 in U.S. District Court in Delaware by attorney Patrick Gallagher on behalf of the victim; all charges against the victim were later dismissed or not prosecuted.

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