St. Paul Chief supports officer who Beat Down 85 Year Old Black Man
Monday, January 17, 2005 at 01:10AM
TheSpook
St. Paul police released photos and an audio recording Friday that they
say show an 85-year-old black man kicked and scuffled with a police
officer and was uncooperative during a Dec. 27 traffic stop. Officer
Michael Lee arrested Leon Nins -- the father of a Connecticut minister --
during the incident and each man accuses the other of assault. On
Wednesday, leaders in St. Paul's African-American community gathered to
criticize police for their handling of the case. "This tends to
corroborate what was described by Officer Lee," said police spokesman
Officer Paul Schnell said of the photos and recording. The Ramsey
County attorney has declined to file felony assault charges against
Nins, and the case has been turned over to the St. Paul city attorney
for consideration of misdemeanor charges. Nins and leaders of the St.
Paul NAACP chapter and the St. Paul African American Leadership Council
demand Wednesday that Lee be fired and that criminal charges be filed
against him. The police department's internal affairs office is
investigating the allegations. Saying an independent witness and other
evidence collected so far supports Lee's case, Police Chief John
Harrington has said he stands behind his officer. The photos released
by the department Friday show Lee with a small scrape on his nose, some
stains on his necktie and white marks on his pants and shoes. Police
have said Nins spit at Lee, kicked him and pushed a car door into Lee's
face. Nins said he didn't cause any marks on Lee. "If they were, he put them there," Nins said. "My hands
were handcuffed behind my back. How could I do anything? He pushed me
to the squad car, sprayed me with Mace, beat me." [more]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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