The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office alleges that Clinton Alford Jr. (pictured) was beaten by an LAPD officer. (Photo: KTLA screen shot)
A Los Angeles police officer was charged Monday with one count of assault under color of authority stemming from an incident that was captured on video last October.
The LAPD officer entered a not guilty plea in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse just after the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced the charge against him, KTLA TV reports.
The suspect, who matched the description of a man sought in a robbery, ran from police officers, according to a news release from the DA’s office. Officer chased him.
Identified by his attorney as 22-year-old Clinton Alford Jr., the suspect surrendered. Alford said he remembered being yanked off his bike and then attacked.
The charged officer allegedly assaulted Alford while he lay prone on the ground, the DA’s office said.
Attorney Caree Harper filed a federal civil rights lawsuit on Alford’s behalf in November. Soon after that, charges were dismissed against Alford, Harper announced, calling for Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck to release surveillance video that captured the beating.
The video, which was captured by a camera on a nearby business, has not been made public.
If convicted as charged, the officer faces up to three years in jail.
