June 18--The executive officer of the Minneapolis Police SWAT Unit was booked into Anoka County Jail on Sunday, June 17, after a fight at an Andover bar the night before, county officials said.
Sgt. David Clifford turned himself in after a fight with a Ramsey man at Tanners Station bar after 7 p.m. Saturday, said Anoka County detective Mike Schantzen. The Ramsey man, who has not been identified, was taken to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids on Sunday, Schantzen said. His condition was unavailable.
Clifford was jailed on suspicion of first-degree and third-degree assault but hasn't yet been charged, jail records show.
Witnesses told detectives that Clifford, who was off-duty at the time, approached the man for speaking loudly on his cellphone, Schantzen said. The men talked briefly, and then Clifford apparently hit the man in the head and left the bar, Schantzen said.
Clifford is a veteran of the U.S. Army who served in Kosovo and Iraq, according to an online biography. The bio says Clifford has participated in more than 350 SWAT operations.
Copyright 2012 - Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.
