The Latest: Minnesota officers disciplined in kicking of man

ST. PAUL, Minn. – The Latest on the release of a St. Paul police video that shows a black man being kicked by an officer and bitten by a police dog (all times local):

3:30 p.m.

St. Paul’s police chief says he has disciplined two officers for a June incident in which a black man was kicked by an officer and bitten by a police dog.

Chief Todd Axtell says the arrest shown in the June video “simply isn’t the St. Paul way.”

The video released Friday shows several officers around the man after he was taken down by a police dog. One officer appears to kick the man three times. Axtell says that officer is on unpaid leave and faces a complaint and investigation. The dog’s handling officer was given a 30-day suspension.

Axtell says the department carried out a careful investigation after the incident and was releasing the video to be transparent.

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3 p.m.

Police in Minnesota are releasing a video that shows a black man being kicked by an officer and bitten by a police dog.

The fuzzy video made in June shows a police dog taking the man to the ground as he yells in pain. It shows six St. Paul police officers surrounding him as he is on the ground, with the dog still biting him. The officers shout and swear, ordering the man not to move.

One officer is seen kicking the man three times. After the kicks, the man stops yelling.

The race of the officers is not clear.

Chief Todd Axtell said earlier Friday that he was disappointed by what the video shows and has already apologized to the man. Axtell said the incident is being reviewed.

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11:40 a.m.

Police in St. Paul are planning to release a video that shows a black man being bitten by a police dog and kicked by an officer.

Chief Todd Axtell says in a posting on the department’s Facebook page that he’s “disappointed and upset” by what the video shows. He says he’s already met with the man and apologized.

Axtell says police are reviewing the incident.

The man’s attorney, Robert Bennett, says the incident happened on June 24. He says his client’s injuries required hospitalization for a couple weeks. Bennett says the man had serious bites to his leg, multiple broken ribs and collapsed lungs.

The news comes in a metropolitan area that has struggled with two high-profile fatal shootings of black men by police in the past year.

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