UTICA — A former Utica police officer has been fined and sentenced to probation after pleading guilty in Federal Court to violating a man’s civil rights by kicking him in the face while hand-cuffed, according to court documents.

Matthew Felitto, 37, of Utica, was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Glenn T. Suddaby on Wednesday to pay a $7,500 fine, and he was sentenced to two years probation, on a charge of deprivation of rights under a color of law. Felitto previously resigned from the department when he pleaded guilty in January.

Authorities said around 10:48 p.m. Sept. 4, 2020, Kerwin Taylor, of Utica, threatened a woman with a loaded gun during a domestic dispute and he was taken into custody by the Utica Police Department on weapons charges. Authorities said Taylor was placed in handcuffs, leg shackles and into the back of a police van, and continued to struggle with the officers, at which point Officer Felitto repeatedly kicked Taylor in the face and upper chest with his boot.

The attack was captured on the body worn cameras of other officers on the scene. Felitto self-reported the action to his superiors and was soon suspended without pay by city officials.

Authorities said Taylor was injured in the attack and he eventually settled a lawsuit with the City of Utica in 2021 for $150,000. He was sentenced to three to six years in state prison for the weapons charge.