O’FALLON, Mo. (AP) — A white suburban St. Louis police detective who was captured on video apparently hitting a black suspect with a police SUV then kicking and punching the man was charged Wednesday with two counts of assault and armed criminal action.
The St. Louis suburb is just north of Ferguson, where Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a white police officer in 2014 was a catalyst for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The arrest happened a day after four St. Louis police officers were shot and a retired St. Louis police captain was fatally shot during a violent night in the city.
The armed criminal action charge, a felony, was filed because the officer used the vehicle as a weapon, Lohmar said, calling it a “4,000-pound missile.”
Smith’s police report said the man darted in front of him and he tried to swerve to miss him, Lohmar said.
