by Chao Xiong and Terry Collins, The Minneapolis Star Tribune
Two Minneapolis police officers were placed on paid administrative leave Thursday after a video surfaced this week showing them involved in an altercation with a handcuffed man, police said.
The two officers are Sgt. Carroll Holley, who has been on the force since 1973, and officer John Laluzerne, who has been on it since 1999.
KSTP-TV (Channel 5) aired the video during its 10 p.m. broadcast earlier this week.
The video shows a group of Minneapolis officers standing around a handcuffed man lying on the ground. One officer appears to kick the man in the head before officers put him in a squad car. The video shows the man kicking out the car and an officer closing the door on his leg.
The incident occurred in the Warehouse District in the summer of 2003.
Local leaders working to improve police and community relations said they were disturbed by the video.
“It was unacceptable, what you see,” said Rev. Ian Bethel, co-chair of the Police Community Relations Council.
Michelle Gross, vice president of Communities United Against Police Brutality, said her group will work with the man if he or his family wishes to file a complaint.
“Frankly, I believe that excessive force was used,” Gross said. “No one wants to overreact ... but you know, you say what you saw. You saw a man walk up to a man and kick him in the face. It’s appalling.”
An internal affairs investigation is underway.
It was the second time in about a week that a video purporting to show mistreatment of a suspect by Minneapolis police has surfaced. The department is also investigating a video that appears to depict officer Victor Mills slapping a suspect after an August arrest in south Minneapolis. Mills is on administrative leave.