Nationwide — A police officer from Indianapolis, Indiana is facing felony charges after bodycam footage appears to show him forcefully stomping a homeless Black man in the head during an arrest.In the bodycam footage released by Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, 39-year old Jermaine Vaugh can be seen handcuffed while being forced to the ground when Huxley, who is white, used his left foot to stomp on his head in the arrest on September 24
43-year old Huxley, who has worked on the police force for 14 years, has since been charged with official misconduct and battery with moderate bodily injury. Police Chief Randal Taylor said Huxley has been suspended without pay and he recommended for him to be fired.
“I’m upset. It hurts me to see any of our officers treat someone the way that you’re going to see here shortly. No excuse for it,” Taylor said, according to NBC News. “I promised this community, and I promised our officers, that I would be transparent. That’s in good times and bad times. This is a bad time.”
The police department has also consulted with the federal authorities and the U.S. attorney’s office in investigating the case.
Meanwhile, Huxley maintains his innocence in the case. He will prove that he did not act illegally or with criminal intent, said his attorney, John Kautzman.
“Over the course of his nearly 15-year career, Sgt. Huxley has been an exemplary police officer. He has never before faced criminal charges or any type of department discipline or excessive force allegations,” Kautzman said.
“He is very sorry about any pain caused to Mr. Vaughn as a result of his actions and the negative scrutiny upon his Department and fellow officers,” he said. “This incident resulted from his perception of the need to attempt a trained police technique that unfortunately struck Mr. Vaughn in an unintended area of his body.”