The Psychopathic Racial Personality From [HERE] Officer Christopher Reiter, 36, is charged with third degree assault for kicking Mohamed Osman, 35, in the face when responding to a May 30, 2016, call, breaking Osman’s nasal cavity and causing a traumatic brain injury. The brain injury still prevents him from working and caring for his children.Reiter is white and Osman is a Somali American.
The incident was captured on surveillance video, and three other white officers at the scene said they did not feel it necessary to kick him in the face, according to charges.
He was on his hands and knees when he was kicked, which caused facial and brain injuries.
3rd degree assault requires a temporary but substantial loss of body function [like a broken arm]. 1st degree assault requires great bodily harm, permanent or protracted loss of use of body function. The prosecutor said the charges may be amended to 1st degree assault depending on Osman's recovery from his injuries.[MORE]
Video and records obtained by Star Tribune appear to contradict official reports filed by two white Minneapolis police officers when they justified kicking a man in the face in May 2016.
Reiter, who is no longer on the force, and Josh Domek were in a group of about four officers who responded to a domestic assault report at 2929 Chicago Avenue south during the early morning hours of May 30.
The video shows Domek and two other officers running out of the building with their guns drawn and toward a silver SUV where Osman was sitting. Osman got out of the car with his hands up and knelt on the ground. Domek then kicked Osman in his midsection. Immediately after, Reiter, dressed in a darker uniform, kicked Osman in the head.
According to the criminal charge, Reiter's kick caused Osman to collapse to the ground "unconscious and bleeding."
A squad car arrives and blocks the camera's view, but when that car pulls away, the video shows Osman at times sitting up unassisted.
In reports they filed after the incident, Domek wrote that as he approached Osman, he ordered him to get on the ground. Domek then wrote that he moved toward Osman "in an effort to push him to the ground to get him in handcuff position. While doing so, I felt resistance from the male, causing me to believe that he was going to attempt to fight as he had just been involved in a violent assault."
In his report, Reiter said when the other officers ordered Osman out of the vehicle, "I could see [Osman] pushing off the ground.
"I made a split second decision and kicked [Osman] in the face one time with the top flat part of my boot."
The video does not appear to show Osman either resisting or pushing off the ground.
In charging Reiter last week with a felony, County Attorney Mike Freeman said, "in this case, a kick to the face is a use of deadly force, and simply not justified," Freeman said.
Domek was not charged.
In a statement released last week, Minneapolis Police Chief Janeé Harteau said "we remain committed to creating a culture of accountability within the MPD. These actions are not consistent with our core values and we take that very seriously."
In a statement issued Monday, Reiter's attorney, Robert Fowler, called the release of the video "shameful," and said he must now move for a change of venue to ensure a fair trial.
"I'm not sure where the media obtained this video, but the proper place for people to judge this video, in the context of other evidence, is in a courtroom during trial." he said.
Minneapolis police have investigated eight complaints of excessive force filed against Reiter since 2013. Two of those remain open, which includes the incident of him kicking Osman. Another case involved Reiter kicking a gas station attendant in the chest in September 2014, an incident also caught on video. That case resulted in a federal lawsuit filed against him and the City of Minneapolis that is still open.
Domek has had five complaints filed against him since 2013, including the report of him kicking Osman.
Osman pleaded guilty to third degree assault in January as part of a plea deal in the domestic violence case.