An Alabama liquor store owner has sued after a police officer responding to a robbery call at his store punched him in the face and broke his jaw in March 2020. The Decatur Daily reports that Kevin Penn sued the city of Decatur and police officer Justin Rippen on March 11 in federal court. Penn is Black and Rippen is white.

Penn had trapped a shoplifter with an electronic lock and the suspect was lying on the ground, with Penn holding him at gunpoint. Surveillance video shows Penn unloading his gun as police arrive. The video appears to show Penn setting the gun magazine down as the officer’s approach.

An officer walked past the suspect and told Penn to put down his weapon. Penn refused saying, “I have a right to have my gun,” according to body camera video.

Police said in 2020 they believed Penn was reloading the gun. An officer, who has been identified as Rippen, then appears to punch Penn. Rippen and two other officers wrestled Penn to the ground and handcuffed him, the video shows. Penn was arrested and charged with obstructing a robbery investigation.

Penn spent six weeks with his jaws wired shut as he recovered. Rippen wasn’t disciplined, the Penn lawsuit says. No investigation began until the video became public in June 2020, three months after it happened.

Source – Ap