Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says deputies who hit man in head lacked probable cause for arrest

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office on Friday declined to file charges against a man who was seen in a viral online video being violently arrested by sheriff’s deputies in January, saying there was a lack of probable cause for the arrest.

But the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office asserted that the stop and arrest were lawful, and expressed disappointment the charges were dropped.

The decision by prosecutors arose from a review only of potential charges against the man, identified only as F.V., without an analysis of the force used against him.

However, the Sheriff’s Office said Friday that an independent review of the incident by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office determined that deputies were justified in using force against F.V.

The two deputies brought F.V. to the ground and, as he laid on his stomach, struck him in the back of the head five times while attempting to handcuff him.

“With that said, we understand the emotional impact such incidents can have on the community,” the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office statement said.

The arrest, on Jan. 9 in the 900 block of 22nd Avenue S. in Minneapolis, was recorded by a witness who did not upload it to social media until Monday.

The one-minute video has racked up almost 100,000 views in the days since and prompted questions about the deputies’ use of force.

New details on what led up to altercation emerged Friday from both the Sheriff’s Office and the County Attorney’s Office.

According to the County Attorney’s Office, citing body-camera video, dashcam video, police reports and statements from F.V.:

The deputies were on patrol in a marked squad car at a gas station near 22nd Avenue S. and E. Franklin Avenue when they noticed a vehicle without front or rear license plates.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, the deputies were there as part of an enforcement initiative targeting areas with a high volume of violent crime.

The car left the gas station parking lot and pulled into another lot next door. As the squad car followed, one of the deputies recognized an out-of-state temporary plate in the rear window of F.V.’s car.

The deputies did not activate their emergency lights until after F.V. parked the vehicle. He exited his car before the deputies exited theirs.

The deputies then issued a range of orders to F.V., who appeared confused about why they were approaching him. He told them that he lived there and asked them repeatedly what had happened.

Each deputy then grabbed one of F.V.’s arms, and one said that F.V. was going to jail because “you [didn’t] get out of the car.”

Deputies struggled to get his hands in cuffs and put him on the ground. As captured in the video, they then hit F.V. in the head while on top of him. According to their reports, they struck F.V. as a “distraction technique” to secure the handcuffs. They later found narcotics on him and a gun in his car.

The Sheriff’s Office said F.V. did not comply with officer commands, physically resisted arrest and reached for his waistband, which the deputies responded to with force.

Potential charges of possession of a controlled substance and prohibited person in possession of a firearm were forwarded to the County Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors concluded they would be unlikely to secure a conviction because deputies didn’t have probable cause for the arrest and the search that followed.

The deputies were within their right to stop the vehicle and inquire about its registration, according to prosecutors. However, they said, the deputies didn’t ask about the registration and instead escalated the situation with physical contact and handcuffing.

Prosecutors said law enforcement officers normally have a legitimate concern for safety when a driver exits a car during a traffic stop without warning, but it was clear that F.V. had parked his car and left it before deputies approached him.