Prosecutors charged a St. Paul officer with assault Monday, saying he punched a 14-year-old girl twice in the face when she was handcuffed in the back of a squad car.

The teen had spit in Officer Michael Philip Soucheray II’s face, according to the criminal complaint charging him with a misdemeanor.

Officers were trying to get the girl from an emergency shelter to a hospital because she was reported to be suicidal but was refusing to go, the complaint said. After Soucheray struck the teen with a closed fist, causing her pain, he grabbed the girl “by the jaw and/or face/neck area,” the complaint said. He then called her a “(expletive) bitch,” the court document continued.

Police Chief Todd Axtell placed Soucheray, 38, on paid administrative leave Monday. A police spokesman said they can’t discuss the reason due to state law.

An internal affairs investigation was opened the day after the incident, and the police department asked the Dakota County sheriff’s office to conduct a criminal investigation.

The case was then referred to the Minneapolis city attorney’s office, to avoid a conflict of interest, and they charged Soucheray on Monday with fifth-degree assault. Related Articles Therapy dog-in training stolen in St. Paul found, reunited with owners

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Soucheray’s attorney, Peter Wold, said in a statement Monday that “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. Officer Soucheray pushed her away by striking her with such little force that not even a mark appeared on her in the booking photo of her taken within an hour of the incident.

“Officer Soucheray reacted with reasonable force,” Wold continued. “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.”

POLICE RESPONDED TO SHELTER FOR GIRLS

The incident occurred Dec. 1 when officers Chris Rhoades and Soucheray were called to a report of a 14-year-old girl who was possibly suicidal at an East Side shelter for girls, Brittany’s Place. Soucheray tried to talk to the teen, but she refused to answer, the complaint said.

Based on the girl’s behavior, she was going to be transported to a hospital, but she didn’t want to go and “became agitated,” the complaint said. A decision was made that the officers would take her “because she was refusing to go with an ambulance and because she was being uncooperative,” the complaint said.

When Soucheray told the girl that police would be taking her, the girl said she was not going and officers handcuffed her. They escorted her to a squad car, and the teen was screaming and crying.

The girl refused to get in the squad. Rhoades told the teen that if she didn’t, she would be dragged, and the girl went limp, the complaint said.

Soucheray went to the other side of the squad, pulled the girl by the arm into the vehicle and sat her up. The officers tried to put a seatbelt around the teen, but she was resisting, the complaint said. At one point, the girl stood up, turned toward Soucheray and spit in his face.

The location where the girl was coming from is an emergency shelter for girls 10- to 18-years-old who have been sexually exploited, said Dan Pfarr, president and CEO of 180 Degrees, of which Brittany’s Place is a program.

“We have a long working relationship at Brittany’s Place with the St. Paul police,” Pfarr said. “They’re very critical in us keeping the girls safe. The girls have a lot of trauma they’ve experienced, and there are problematic behaviors that occur. The police are well aware of it and are trained. … We do expect them to maintain their composure under stress, and they do, they have. We believe this is an isolated incident.”

When the incident was brought to Pfarr’s attention, he knew it needed to be reported immediately to the police chief.

“We felt we could go directly to Chief Axtell because we knew he would respond appropriately, and he has,” Pfarr said.

The case also came to the police department’s attention through their regular review of use of force, said Steve Linders, a St. Paul police spokesman.

Soucheray is summoned to appear in court March 16.

At the time of the incident, police arrested the girl on suspicion of fourth-degree assault on Soucheray, and she was brought to the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center. The day after her arrest, based upon the evidence presented by St. Paul police investigators, the Ramsey County attorney’s office said they declined to charge her.

Pfarr said Monday that the teen “was initially pretty upset and had some physical marks, but she is doing well.”

POLICE CHIEF EXPRESSES DISAPPOINTMENT

Axtell told the police department in an email Monday that it disappointed him an officer’s actions would lead to criminal charges, saying that “(a)s a department, we must hold ourselves to the highest standards.”

In a public statement, the police chief said: “The St. Paul Police Department is committed to serving the city of St. Paul with the highest levels of professionalism. As the department has demonstrated time and time again, when incidents occur that do not meet those standards, swift and decisive action is taken to hold ourselves accountable.”

The department is aware of the charge against Soucheray, Axtell said, but couldn’t comment on the allegations because of Minnesota employment laws.

“We understand the public’s interest in receiving timely, factual answers to questions about this matter, and the department will provide as much information as possible once state law allows us to do so,” Axtell said. “In the meantime, we will respect the legal process and let it play out before commenting further or taking any additional actions.”

After the police department opened the internal affairs investigation Dec. 2, Soucheray was assigned to an administrative role that didn’t include patrol, Linders said. Rhoades is not the subject of an internal affairs investigation, according to the police department.

There is squad video of the incident, but the police department considers it part of the criminal case and won’t be releasing it while the case is underway, Linders said.

Soucheray has been a St. Paul officer for seven years.

He’s been disciplined three times in the past. He received a written reprimand last year for a preventable squad crash; an oral reprimand for a preventable squad crash in 2014; and an oral reprimand in 2012 for failing to attend a scheduled court trial, according to police department records.

Dave Titus, St. Paul Police Federation president, said he suspects the department won’t proceed with the internal investigation until the criminal aspect is complete.

“We’re very disappointed that charges are moving forward,” Titus said. “Mike Soucheray is an outstanding officer with a very good reputation, and the East Side (where he was assigned to patrol) benefits from his work ethic.”