The attorney for the man who was punched in the face by a Los Angeles Police Department officer during a traffic stop said his client spent hours at the hospital after the encounter, suffering from a broken nose and an injured jaw.
Alexander “Dante” Mitchell, 28, is taking legal action against the LAPD after he was struck in the face by an officer as he was being handcuffed. A witness filmed the arrest, which took place Sunday in Watts.
“It doesn’t make sense,” An’tonel Harris, Mitchell’s mother, said in a press conference on Tuesday. “He’s complying. He’s listening, and you still punch him? A sucker punch!”
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Mitchell was joined by his mother, other relatives and his attorney, Brad Gage, in a press conference held outside LAPD’s headquarters on Tuesday. They called for the arrest of the officer who struck the punch.
The incident happened during a traffic stop when officers at the intersection of 113th Street and Graham Avenue said they saw Mitchell’s car double-parked and facing against traffic. Police said they ordered Mitchell to exit the vehicle and claimed he resisted being handcuffed by “refusing to place his hands behind his back and grasping his front waistband/pocket area with his right hand.”
“An officer then struck Mitchell on the right side of his face, enabling the officers to complete the handcuffing,” LAPD said in a statement.
Mitchell was taken to a nearby hospital for his injuries and then booked for resisting arrest. He was released with a misdemeanor citation.
Interim LAPD Chief Blake Chow addressed the incident during a police commissioner’s meeting on Tuesday.
“There was an active use of force investigation as well as a complaint investigation,” Chow said. “We have asked the investigation on use the force to be fast-tracked … So the goal is to complete both of those investigations, you know, within the next three weeks.”
Both officers involved in the video – neither of which the department has named publicly – have been taken off street duties as the investigations continue.
“This officer clearly has anger management issues,” Gage said. “He does not deserve to remain on the force. We're calling on the district attorney's office to investigate and to prosecute.”
