Former Southeast Missouri police officer indicted on civil rights charges

A former Piedmont, Missouri, police officer has been indicted on charges of violating the civil rights of two people and then lying to the FBI about it.

Woodrow Massa, 66, of Wayne County, Missouri, was indicted Tuesday by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau on two counts of deprivation of rights under color of law and two counts of lying to the FBI, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

The indictment says Massa, while a Piedmont police officer, participated in the arrest and detention of two people "despite the absence of an arrest warrant or probable cause." The arrest deprived those people of the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure, the indictment says.

The first arrest, of someone identified in court documents as "J.R.," occurred Aug. 12, 2020, according to court documents. The second, of "E.W.," occurred Dec. 22, 2020.

Massa has been accused of lying about the arrest of J.R. twice in FBI interviews: first on Oct. 5, 2020, in Wayne County and again on May 24, 2021, in Cape Girardeau County. Massa lied by saying he was not present in the booking room while J.R. was being processed, despite a video recording depicting his presence there, authorities report.

Massa is scheduled to appear Oct. 13 in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to answer the charges.

Each misdemeanor civil rights charge carries a potential penalty of up to a year in prison, up to $100,000 fine, or both. The felony charge of making a false statement carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, up to $250,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.

The case was investigated by the FBI and the Wayne County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.