Minnesota Cop Charged With Punching Handcuffed 14-Year-Old

A Minnesota cop has been charged with assault after punching an unarmed, mentally distressed and handcuffed 14-year-old in the face.

In a report from the Washington Post, the incident occurred back in December, when St. Paul police officer Michael Soucheray (accompanied by partner Chris Roades) was sent to pick up the teenager Brittany's Place, which is a shelter for girls in Minnesota.

The girl, who needed psychiatric assistance and was possibly suicidal, "became agitated" upon the cops' arrival and ultimately resulted in the officers handcuffing her. As the cops tried to put her in the back of a squad car she began to fight, and then proceeded to spit in Soucheray's face.

Soucheray then punched the teenager in her face twice and, according to a criminal complaint, grabbed her "by the jaw and/or face/neck area" and called her a "f**king b**ch."

Following the charge made this past Monday, Soucheray has voiced the argument that he was defending himself from the girl.

"This charge is based on a self-defense reaction to a screaming, threatening subject immediately after she had committed a felony assault on Officer Soucheray by intentionally spitting her saliva into his face," Peter Wold,  Soucheray's attorney, said in a statement. "Officer Soucheray reacted with reasonable force. Officer Soucheray regrets the attention this political reaction may bring to his fellow officers at the St. Paul Police Department and does assure them that he will defend himself vigorously against this unfortunate action."

Soucheray is summoned to appear in court March 16.

Tensions are still high in St. Paul, considering the death of Philando Castile who was fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop in the suburb of Falcon Heights (a suburb of St. Paul).

Jeronimo Yanez, the officer that shot Castile, was charged with second degree manslaughter and two felony counts of dangerous discharge of a firearm.