Minneapolis police officer charged with assault for beating man who unknowingly shot at cops
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A former Minneapolis police officer has been charged with assault for the beating of a man who unknowingly fired shots at police in an altercation during the 2020 riots.
Justin Stetson is charged with third-degree assault for the incident involving Jaleel Stallings.
Stallings was with a group of people in a parking lot off Lake Street after curfew on May 30, 2020, when officers in an unmarked van fired less-lethal ammunition toward Stallings' group.
Stallings, who feared he was being shot at with live rounds, returned fired, not realizing the people in the van were cops. In the days preceding the shooting, Stallings had heard reports of white supremacists taking part in the riots and worried he was under attack.
The mugshot following Jaleel Stallings arrest shows injuries to his face. (Supplied)
Stallings was hit in the chest and responded by firing three shots from his handgun. Stallings said he didn't want to hurt anyone and shot low – and once he realized the people who had shot at him were cops, he immediately surrendered. No officers were hurt by his actions.
Body camera video shows him being roughed up after dropping his gun and lying on the ground. A mugshot of Stallings taken after the incident shows him with significant brushing on the face.
Bodycam video shows altercation involving Jaleel Stallings and Minneapolis police
A jury acquitted Jaleel Stallings for firing at Minneapolis police after he claimed self-defense in the case, saying he didn't realize the people firing what turned out to be less-lethal munitions at him were actually police officers.
Stallings ultimately faced charges for the shooting but was acquitted by a jury on all eight counts, including attempted murder, after his attorneys argued he acted in self defense. He later sued the City of Minneapolis and received a $1.5 million settlement.
In the criminal complaint filed on Wednesday, the BCA says body camera video shows after Stallings was already on the ground and the gun was out of his reach, Stetson kicked him in the face and slammed his head into the pavement before striking him with his knee several times.
The attack left Stallings with a fractured orbital wall.
According to the complaint, Stetson had been with Minneapolis police since 2011 and had received 1,200 hours of training, including use-of-force training, during that time. Stetson left the force in August of 2022.