Officer Reiter guilty of assault for kicking suspect

A Hennepin County District Court jury has found a Minneapolis police officer guilty of third-degree assault for kicking a suspect who was on his hands and knees, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Monday.

Christopher Reiter, 36, was charged in connection with a May 30 incident, which was investigated by the St. Paul Police Department to avoid a conflict of interest. The jury deliberated for just 90 minutes. The sentence calls for probation, but Freeman said he will be asking for prison time.

“We are pleased with the verdict,” he said. “We think the evidence justified the verdict. All Minneapolitans, including police officers, agree this conduct is not acceptable. You don’t kick a guy on his knees, in the face, especially when he wasn’t doing anything.”

According to the criminal complaint, officers were sent to a Minneapolis apartment building on a domestic assault call. The female victim told police the man who assaulted her was Mohamed Osman. Officers quickly found him sitting in a vehicle parked outside the building.

Several officers ordered Osman to get out of the vehicle, which he did. The officers then told him to get on the ground, which he did. While the suspect was on his hands and knees, Reiter walked up to Osman and kicked him in the face. The man collapsed to the ground, bleeding and unconscious. He was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a displaced nasal bone, nasal septal fractures and a mild traumatic brain injury, the complaint states.