HOMER, La. (KTAL/KMSS) – A Louisiana police chief was arrested for the second time in connection to an ongoing civil rights investigation.

A grand jury handed down an indictment for two new counts of malfeasance of office during a bond hearing for Homer Police Chief Van McDaniel on Tuesday.

The hearing was regarding the bond set after McDaniel’s arrest in Nov. 2023, also stemming from the arrest of Gregory Moak.

McDaniel and other officers assigned to the Patrol Division arrested Moak, a suspect in a reported theft, in Dec. 2022. Officers booked him on multiple charges, including resisting an officer, theft, and entering and remaining after being forbidden.

In Feb. 2023, Moak filed a civil rights complaint alleging excessive use of force and physical brutality during his arrest. Judge McClusky stayed proceedings in April pending the outcome of the criminal trial.

Investigators reviewed evidence and determined that McDaniel used excessive force by deploying a taser multiple times on a non-combative subject, who was handcuffed behind his back and lying on the ground. 

After his arrest in November, McDaniel was indicted with one count of aggravated battery and one count of malfeasance in office. His bond was set at $200,000.

According to the Claiborne Parish Clerk of Court, the District Attorney recused himself from the case.

The clerk said McDaniel was out on bond until Tuesday’s hearing.