Dashcam Cop Charged With Punching Teen Girl Acquitted

A St. Paul Police officer will not go to jail for punching a 14-year-old girl in the face while she was handcuffed. Officer Michael Soucheray II was facing a charge of misdemeanor assault in the incident, which could have carried a sentence of 90 days in prison. He was acquitted Thursday after a trial. Prosecutors say the incident started when police responded to a call of a disturbed teen at a local shelter, who was reportedly threatening suicide. When they arrived at the scene, they put the 14-year-old girl in handcuffs after she refused to go to the hospital and became agitated. While putting her in the back of the squad car to take her to the hospital, she reportedly spit in Soucheray’s face. According to the criminal complaint, Soucheray responded by hitting the girl in the face with an open fist twice and grabbing her bay the face and neck area.