By Amy Forliti
Associated Press
ST. PAUL, Minn. — Three St. Paul police officers involved in the January arrest of a man — who recorded the incident and claimed he was being targeted because he was black — have been cleared of allegations that they used excessive force, police announced Friday.
The department announced that a Police-Civilian Internal Affairs Review Commission had reviewed the findings of an internal affairs investigation and exonerated the officers of allegations of improper procedure when they arrested Chris Lollie, 28, in the city’s skyway system.
Police Chief Thomas Smith said he supported the findings.
Lollie claimed he was doing nothing wrong as he sat in the skyway. Authorities who were called to investigate a trespassing report used a stun gun on him after they say he declined to give his name, refused to follow orders, and resisted arrest.
Lollie recorded the incident on his cellphone, and the video was posted to YouTube in August. It gained national attention in the wake of racial unrest that shook Ferguson, Missouri, after the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown.
Lollie was charged with trespassing, disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process, but the city dropped the charges in July. City Attorney Sara Grewing said earlier there was no evidence Lollie was on private property.
He is now suing the officers and the city, alleging his rights were violated during the arrest. The Star Tribune reports his lawsuit seeks $500,000 in compensatory damages and undetermined punitive damages.
The St. Paul Police Federation, the union representing officers, said it was confident the review panel would reach the finding it did.
“When this arrest came to light, there were many who wanted to rush to judgment and condemn the actions of these highly decorated officers,” federation president Dave Titus said in a statement. “Video footage rarely captures the entirety of a given situation. This is particularly evident when police officers are required to use force.”
Tyrone Terrill, president of the St. Paul-based African American Leadership Council, said in the news release issued by police that he had concerns about the process and the findings, but didn’t want that to affect the relationships he’s developed with police.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press