Embed CodePlays: 2947 (Embed: 0)


Eric Ronnell Hightower.


St. Paul police investigate claim that cops kicked man, slammed face into squad car

A St. Paul police internal affairs investigation is under way after a woman posted a video online Wednesday, Aug. 29, showing a St. Paul police officer kicking a man in the chest 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.

"The video of a St. Paul Police officer striking a suspect raises serious questions about the conduct of the officer," St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman said in a written statement. "I spoke to Police Chief Tom Smith and he has begun a full investigation.

"I grew up in St. Paul having full confidence in the St. Paul Police Department," Coleman continued. "I have high expectations for the department

and its employees. We will fully investigate and take appropriate action."
Padilla called videos "a snippet of the totality of a story. 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.

A police report says officer Jesse Zilge was the primary reporting officer and Steven Petron was the secondary reporting officer. 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, a man 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.

His criminal history includes convictions for violating an order for protection, obstructing legal process and petty theft. He was charged in 2011 with fifth-degree drug possession and third-degree assault, and has pleaded guilty to both.

In the drug case, residents in the 800 block of Rice Street in St. Paul called 911 in July 2011 after they saw Hightower selling drugs in the alley. When one person told him to leave, he threatened to "beat his ass," according to the criminal complaint. Witnesses told police that Hightower started chasing people and grabbed a golf club someone was holding.

Police later found suspected crack and marijuana in Hightower's buttocks, the complaint said.

The assault case stemmed from an August 2011 incident in which Hightower greeted an acquaintance with, "What up, boy?" according to a criminal complaint. The man took offense at the term "boy" and they started to argue. The man told police that Hightower punched him in the face, knocking out his two front teeth.
Hightower is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 14 on both the drug and assault cases from 2011.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_21427423/st-paul-police-probe-brutality-claim-that-cops

View comments (43)