From the Washington Post
“Authorities in New Hampshire said that they had arrested two state troopers and charged them with assault for their actions during a violent arrest captured on video earlier this year.
The arrest occurred after a long police chase that began in Massachusetts and ended in New Hampshire, after which at least two officers were seen on the video repeatedly punching the driver who had led the pursuit.
After video of the incident began to spread online, Joseph Foster, the New Hampshire attorney general, launched a criminal investigation into the episode. The New Hampshire State Police and Massachusetts State Police each pulled a trooper involved in the incident from duty while the investigation was carried out.
On Tuesday, Foster announced that the two troopers — Joseph Flynn, 32, of the Massachusetts State Police, and Andrew Monaco, 31, of the New Hampshire State Police — were arrested and charged with simple assault for their use of force during the arrest.
Flynn was charged with two counts of simple assault, while Monaco was charged with three counts of simple assault. Both were released on their own recognizance, Foster’s office said. It was not immediately clear if the two men had attorneys. Both are scheduled to be arraigned in September in Nashua.
Foster’s office said that because the two troopers were on-duty law enforcement officers during the incident, their charges could see an enhanced penalty.
Footage of the May 11 chase and arrest emerged during a time of increased scrutiny of how police officers use force, a debate that surged back into the national consciousness in recent weeks after officers shot and killed black men in Louisiana and Minnesota. This topic also involves anxieties faced by police after eight officers were fatally shot in Dallas and, this week, Baton Rouge — one by an attacker who specifically said he was enraged by police killings.”
“Video of the episode captured a pickup truck coming to a stop, after which more than half a dozen officers, one with a police dog, approach the car. The driver is seen getting out and then getting down on his knees and beginning to lie down on the street. At least two of the officers can then be seen in the footage repeatedly hitting the man as some of the other officers stand nearby.
The Massachusetts State Police said Tuesday that Flynn remains suspended with pay, as he was not long after the chase involving Simone. An internal affairs investigation into the episode is still ongoing, according to a spokesman.
Col. Robert L. Quinn, director of the New Hampshire state police, called the incident “disturbing” during a news conference in May. He also said at the time that his agency had relieved the trooper from duty without pay.”
Link with video here:
Deborah Lee Jarrett 