Metropolitan Indianapolis policeman faces charges after seeing man in handcuffs kick in the face

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Officer Eric M. Huxley has been charged with two counts of misconduct and assault and battery with moderate bodily harm and suspended without pay after video footage of him was released kicking the face of a handcuffed man, Jermaine Vaughn.

Police said Huxley was helping arrest Vaughn for disorderly conduct when the incident took place on September 24, HuffPost reports. Police Department Chief Randal Taylor recommended that Huxley be forcibly dismissed after an investigation into the situation was carried out. However, he will remain suspended without pay while the FBI conducts an independent investigation. Huxley had been in the police force for 14 years.

“Our office and the FBI have opened an investigation, and if the investigation reveals prosecutable violations of federal criminal laws, the department will take appropriate action,” Acting US Attorney John Childress said, according to HuffPost.

“I’m upset,” Taylor said at a press conference before showing video of the arrest. “It pains me to see one of our officers treating someone like you are going to see him here. There is no excuse for that.”

According to USA Today, Huxley was one of three officers who approached Vaughn at Monument Circle because he was “loud and messy,” according to an affidavit. Officers told Vaughn to calm down, but after her refusal, he found himself handcuffed. Body camera images, released Wednesday, show officers asking him to “lean back”. At this point, another officer pushed Vaughn up the stairs and pushed him to the ground. Huxley then appears on camera, stomping his foot on Vaughn’s face.

Vaughn’s injuries were caught on camera. The affidavit notes that he sustained a cut on his lip and blood on his mouth was recorded in the video. His charges of disorderly conduct and resisting his arrest were dropped on October 8.

Taylor said police were made aware of the problem on October 6 and ordered a swift investigation into internal affairs. The IMPD will also review past cases of use of force among all officers involved and conduct a review of its protocols and practices. Huxley says the timing was a misstep, explaining that he was originally trying to put his foot on Vaughn’s shoulder but missed it.

“I accidentally kicked him in the face. I was trying to put my foot on his shoulder and accidentally kicked him in the face, ”Huxley said in an affidavit.