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Associated Press

Charges: St. Paul cop punched handcuffed teen girl who spit on him

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Updated: 7:45 p.m. | Posted: 2:53 p.m.

A St. Paul police officer is charged with misdemeanor assault after prosecutors say he punched a 14-year-old girl in the face.

According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, the girl was handcuffed at the time of the December incident and was in the back of a squad car. The complaint says Officer Michael Soucheray II hit the girl after she spit on him.

Soucheray was placed on paid leave Monday.

His attorney, Peter Wold, says Soucheray's reaction was in self-defense and he pushed the girl away after she committed felony assault by spitting at him. Wold says his client used reasonable force.

The complaint says officers were trying to take the girl to a hospital because she was reportedly suicidal, but she refused to go and became agitated.

When another officer, Chris Rhoades, told the girl she would be dragged into the squad car if she didn't get in, she "went limp," according to the criminal complaint. Once pulled by Soucheray into the police car, she resisted being belted and tried to stand up. When she spit in his face, Soucheray "struck [the girl] twice in the face with a closed fist causing her pain." Prosecutors also say Soucheray grabbed the teen by her jaw or face and called her an obscene name.

Minneapolis City Attorney Susan Segal said the St. Paul city attorney forwarded the case to her office so there would not be any appearance of conflict.

"The most important thing is that as we reviewed the evidence we feel that the evidence clearly supports bringing forward these charges," Segal said.

Soucheray is scheduled to be arraigned March 16.

St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said in a statement that the case is under internal review by his department.

"The Saint Paul Police Department is committed to serving the city of Saint Paul with the highest levels of professionalism," Axtell said. "As the department has demonstrated time and time again, when incidents occur that do not meet those standards, swift and decisive action is taken to hold ourselves accountable."

MPR News staff contributed to this report