April 14--A Milwaukee police officer was using "focused strikes to gain compliance" when a smartphone video captured him pounding on the head of a suspected drunken driver lying face-down on the pavement, a police spokeswoman said Friday.
The motorist, Jeffrey R. Strasser, 39, was pulled over about 11 p.m. Thursday in the 200 block of E. Juneau Ave., police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz said.
Smart phone video posted to YouTube shows Strasser being pulled from a 2008 Lamborghini by officers who shouted obscenities while taking him to the pavement.
Strasser is lying on his abdomen with his head turned to the left when one officer is seen delivering two blows with the side of a closed fist to the left side of his head and face.
The blows are clearly audible, as are commands by the officer telling Strasser to stop resisting.
Strasser was cited for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, Schwartz said in a news release.
According to the release:
A police sergeant in a marked squad saw Strasser driving recklessly, activated his red lights and siren and tried to stop him. Strasser was driving with no headlamps on, disregarded a stop sign and caused other motorists to move out of his way to keep from being struck.
He nearly struck several pedestrians and refused officers' commands to get out of the car when he finally stopped.
Strasser was resisting attempts by officers to place handcuffs on him when one of them "delivered focused strikes to gain compliance and control," Schwartz said.
Strasser had a blood alcohol content of .19, more than twice the legal limit for motorists in Wisconsin, 90 minutes after he was pulled over, Schwartz said.
She added that the incident was "under review for additional charges."
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