Officer Charged with 2 Misdemeanors in Detox Incident
Posted at: 10/04/2012 4:17 PM
| Updated at: 10/04/2012 5:16 PM
A Duluth Police officer seen hitting a man on a surveillance video now faces two misdemeanor charges.
A special prosecuting attorney decided to charge Officer Richard Jouppi with fifth-degree assault and disorderly conduct, according to a statement released Thursday afternoon by the police department. The charges come after an incident at a Duluth detoxification center on Sept. 21 which was captured on surveillance video.
The video shows Jouppi hitting Anthony Jackson several times after Jackson strikes at Jouppi. Jackson is pulled out of his wheelchair during the incident. The altercation reopened a previous laceration on Jackson’s forehead.
Defense attorney Fred Bruno tells The Associated Press Jouppi will plead not guilty. Bruno says the charges are not surprising, given that police released the video.
The department placed Jouppi on administrative leave, pending an investigation.
Prosecutors had originally filed a charge against Jackson but dropped it after seeing the video.
Video of the incident was shown on TV stations around the country last weekend.
(Copyright 2012 WDIO-TV, LLC. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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