Spokane County Sheriff’s sergeant to be charged with assault, falsifying police report over violent 2023 arrest

Spokane County Sheriff’s Sergeant Clay Hilton is set to be charged with assault and falsifying a police report for violently arresting a 63-year-old man last summer.

The charging decision comes more than a year after Hilton’s arrest of Kevin Hinton at Terrace View Park left the man with eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, concussion and disfigured lip for what a Spokane police investigation showed was at most a civil infraction – for being at a Spokane Valley park after dark.

Yakima County Prosecutor Joe Brusic said in an email Monday afternoon his office recommended charges of second -degree assault with the aggravator of egregious lack of remorse and false swearing.

A judge found probable cause Friday and the charging documents will likely be filed Monday or Tuesday, Brusic said.

Brusic said Hilton will likely be arraigned on the charges at the end of September. Brusic’s office was asked by Spokane County Prosecutor Larry Haskell to handle the charging decision to prevent a conflict of interest.

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office was unaware of the charges until it was alerted by the media, according to a statement.

“With this new information, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office is finalizing the internal investigation into this incident,” the statement reads. “We will provide an update once the internal investigation is complete while ensuring Washington State employment law and all employee contract processes are followed.”

Sheriff John Nowels thanked Brusic’s office for their work on the case along with Spokane Police.

Last week, Hinton filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and the sergeant, among other entities.

“I was in disbelief. I was just taken aback by the entire incident,” Hinton said reflecting on his arrest. “I obviously couldn’t breathe. I just couldn’t wrap my head around that fact that that all had just transpired.”

Over the past year, Hinton said he has lived in fear of the sergeant, who remains on paid administrative leave from the sheriff’s office, pending the completion of an internal investigation.

Hilton could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 for the second -degree assault charge, which is a class B felony. False swearing is a gross misdemeanor which carried a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.