St. Ann Police admit to injuring, arresting wrong person after chase

Jan 16, 2015 18:53


ST. ANN, Mo. (KMOV.com) - St. Ann Police apologized to a college student after they admitted to causing severe injuries to his face after accusing him of a crime he didn’t commit on Thursday.

Police were in pursuit of Anton Simmons, who had 17 warrants our for his name, when 22-year-old Joseph Swink crashed his car trying to avoid the police pursuit on Interstate 70.

“They ended up grabbing him [Swink], tossing him to the ground, and were trying to handcuff him,” said St. Ann Police Chief Aaron Jimenez. “All the sirens and lights were going off. It was very loud and they couldn’t hear anything the citizen was saying.”

Swink is an accounting student at UMSL with no criminal record and was on his way home from an internship when he was accidentally involved in the pursuit.

Police say they were able to get him into custody using the least amount of force necessary, but when they finally had him in handcuffs on the ground, they heard on their radios that the real suspect was in custody at a different location.

Swink suffered severe damage to his ear and his vehicle was totaled.

“I never really had 100 percent trust in police before,” Swink said. “But I really don’t now.”
Chief Jimenez says he has given a sincere apology for the entire situation.  Police say they are now making changes to their radio system to make sure all  officers are getting the same updated information.
Simmons, who was wanted on 17 warrants, was charged with assault, armed  criminal action and property damage.  He was booked into jail on a $100,000  bond.

Source

Another Article with the St. Ann Police Chief's Comments

OP: This is unsurprising to me knowing the reputation for the St. Louis County police departments. For those of you wondering, St. Ann is fairly close to Ferguson/Florissant but has largely been unaffected by protests. There is video/pictures at both links.

race / racism, missouri, police brutality

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