ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – St. Paul Police say they will address the content of a YouTube video showing an alleged incident of police brutality.
The video was recently posted to YouTube, and shows a man being arrested by an officer. [NOTE: Linked video contains explicit language and violence.]
At one point in the video, it appears that the officer kicks the man in the throat while he’s lying down on the sidewalk.
Later in the video, another officer arrives and the two are seen pulling the man’s hair and shoving the man face down onto the hood of the police cruiser.
(credit: Ramsey County Jail)
The man arrested in the video was identified in an incident report as 30-year-old Eric Hightower. He was arrested for terroristic threats, damage to property and obstruction of the legal process, according to the report. He has not been charged.
The incident report also lists the names of two St. Paul Police officers. It lists the primary reporting officer as Jesse Zilge and the secondary reporting officer as Steven Petron. Officer Zilge has been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates the incident.
St. Paul Police Chief Tom Smith said the department learned about the incident about six hours ago. He said they have “serious concerns” about the officer’s use of force, as seen in the video. Smith is immediately calling for further investigation and for that investigation to be expedited. He said the department — and the public — have a right to know the full story.
An incident report states officers were sent to an address in St. Paul around 6 p.m., where they arrested Hightower at the corner of Woodbridge and Milford streets. Hightower was arrested for allegedly making threatening gestures towards a woman, obstructing the legal process and criminal damage to property. He is currently being held at the Ramsey County Jail.
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