Minn. Police Investigated For Allegedly Abusing Suspect

Aug. 30, 2012
A St. Paul police internal affairs investigation is underway after a woman posted a video online showing a St. Paul police officer kicking a man in the face as he is lying on the ground.

Aug. 29--A St. Paul police internal affairs investigation is underway after a woman posted a video online Wednesday, Aug. 29, showing a St. Paul police officer kicking a man in the face as he is lying on the ground. He and another officer then slammed the man's face into a squad car hood. Officers also appear to be pulling the man's hair.

Police arrested the man, Eric Ronnell Hightower, and he is being held in the Ramsey County jail.

"I really think they (the officers) need to be reprimanded," said Angela Hulbert, who posted the video on YouTube after a friend gave it to her. She is a friend of Hightower's and two of her children witnessed what happened. "That's just so uncalled for. He wasn't resisting arrest, he was doing everything he was asked to do."

Police were looking for Hightower, 30, for allegedly threatening to kill an acquaintance, said Howie Padilla, St. Paul police spokesman. Officers arrested him Tuesday about 6 p.m. by Lewis Park at Woodbridge and Milford streets.

"Videos are a snippet of the totality of a story," Padilla said. "They don't necessarily allow for the entire answer or the entire story to be told. That's what we're trying to get at in the internal affairs investigation."

Hulbert said she contacted the mayor's office Wednesday and spoke with a sergeant in internal affairs. Padilla wouldn't immediately elaborate on the identity of the officers in the video, saying part of the internal affairs investigation would be identifying them.

In

the video, Hightower can be heard shouting at an officer, "Assaulted who?" and "Can you tell me what's going on?" and "I don't have a warrant out for my arrest!"

Savanah Wellman, Hulbert's 9-year-old daughter, said she saw Hightower, known as "Nelly," on the ground. Police were saying he had hit someone the night before and Hightower was denying it, she said.

Savanah said she did not see Hightower doing anything before the officer kicked him. She believes the officer kicked Hightower in the throat.

"I was thinking that was really not acceptable to kick him like that," she said.

Before the kick, the officer had sprayed Hightower with a chemical irritant and used a Taser on him, people in the video can be heard saying. A police report that included "weapons used by police" listed hands/fists/feet, Taser and chemical.

There were a lot of people at the park who saw what happened, including children, Savanah said.

Police became aware of the video Wednesday morning and Chief Thomas Smith "immediately asked that an internal investigation begin," Padilla said.

Padilla said police are not going to rush to any conclusions because they want to get accurate answers, and that the public should expect the investigation to take weeks, not months.

"I think it's safe to say some people might be shocked by the video," Padilla said. "Our investigators are looking to sift through that and get to the answers."

Hightower was arrested on suspicion of making terroristic threats, obstructing legal process and criminal damage to property. He has not been charged.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried or twitter.com/ppUsualSuspects.

Copyright 2012 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

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