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The Associated Press
St. Paul

Worthington police, others sued in beating of motorist

Footage shows an officer punching driver in his car.
The ACLU released footage from a July 28, 2016 stop of Anthony Promvongsa in Worthington, Minn.
Courtesy of ACLU 2016

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The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota has filed an excessive force lawsuit in the 2016 beating of a Worthington motorist that was caught on video.

Twenty-three-year-old Anthony Promvongsa was pulled from his car, punched and kneed by Buffalo Ridge Drug Task Force Officer Joe Joswiak during a traffic stop.

The lawsuit names the Worthington Police Department, the task force and individual officers as defendants.

Criminal charges against Promvongsa say he took aggressive action toward officers' cars, including swerving at them and tailgating one. He pleaded guilty to two counts of fifth-degree assault.

Promvongsa says he thought he was going to die when Joswiak approached his car with a gun drawn and he wants to hold the officers accountable.

Worthington police did not immediately return a phone message on Wednesday.