According to Decatur Police Chief Nate Allen, cops came to investigate the situation and Penn was armed, and they thought he might’ve been the suspect.
At a Monday press conference, Decatur police played body camera footage, in which a cop tells Penn to put his gun down but he doesn’t comply.
The chief said Penn was holding a magazine in his other hand, which cops might have believed was a gun at the time.
Penn’s lawyer, Carl Cole, said Penn showed the gun to cops to make sure they knew he was armed, then he removed the clip and ejected the bullets from the chamber.
With Penn appearing to not put down what cops believed was a gun, one officer immediately punches him in the face as seen in the body camera footage.
