An Alabama business owner filed a complaint after he was punched in the face by a police officer responding to his 911 call.
The incident occurred on March 15 at Star Spirits & Beverages in Decatur, according to AL.com. Decatur Police Chief Nate Allen explained the situation during a press conference on Monday.
He also showed body camera footage of the incident. Reporters did not receive a copy, but they could record the screen with their own cameras. Surveillance tape of the incident was also posted on social media.
Store owner Kevin Penn called Decatur Police to report a robbery at his store and informed the dispatcher he was holding the suspect at gunpoint. When officers arrived, they determined it was a shoplifting.
The officers asked Penn to put his gun away and he refused. He had a magazine in his hand and a gun was lying on a counter. Allen, who is Black, admitted the officers probably mistook Penn for a suspect because he was armed.
“He said I’m not going to put the gun down, and that gives an impression to the officer that he has a gun in his hand,” Allen said.
The video footage did not have audio. It depicted Penn arguing with the officers for a few moments before one of them lunged and punched him in the face. The unidentified officer allegedly reacted because Penn moved his hand over the gun lying on the counter.
After the blow, two other officers rushed in and helped their colleague take Penn down. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor obstruction. According to court records, Decatur officer J. Rippen wrote Penn “refused to obey lawful commands to put down and back away from a firearm while officers were attempting to investigate a robbery.”
Allen said his officers are trained to “use the least amount of force to get the job done.” He was glad the confrontation didn’t escalate beyond a fist.
“I would much rather have a punch than an officer-involved shooting,” he said.
Carl Cole, Penn’s lawyer, told AL.com his client suffered a broken jaw and lost some of his teeth after he was hit. Treatment for his injuries included having his jaw wired shut. Penn filed a complaint with internal affairs and surrendered surveillance footage from the store. When he inquired about the status of his complaint, the city did not respond. Allen said the incident is still under investigation and he does not know when the probe will be complete.
He wants to foster a trust with the community and believes transparency is important.
“We wanted to show that, because one thing I strive to do is build relationships with this community,” the chief said. “We need to be very transparent; we need to be very open. But most of all, we need our citizens to respect the police department and we need the police department to respect the citizens.”
The officer who punched Penn is on administrative duty and the other two are still on patrol.
