The St. Paul police chief apparently has moved to discipline two officers involved in the arrest of Eric Hightower that was captured on video and posted on YouTube last summer.

The video showed officer Jesse Zilge delivering a kick to Hightower while he was on the ground, a kick which Hightower has said connected with his chest and chin, and other force being used against the man.

Following an internal affairs investigation, Chief Thomas Smith made a decision last week about Zilge and another officer involved, Matthew Gorans, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a department spokesman. Paulos declined to provide details because the case is in the union grievance process.

Under state law, disciplinary action against public employees becomes public when a final disposition is reached. Discipline is not imposed officially until after appeals are exhausted.

Chris Wachtler, St. Paul Police Federation attorney, said in a statement Tuesday: “Our members were dealing with a known dangerous individual who refused to follow directives, at a time when very dangerous conditions posed a threat to officer safety. The Federation will take any necessary and appropriate action to protect their rights.”

Police were arresting Hightower on Aug. 28 on allegations that he threatened to kill a former girlfriend. He pleaded guilty last month of gross-misdemeanor domestic assault and is to be sentenced July 18.

Hightower, 31, is in prison for violating probation on an unrelated 2011 assault charge.

Smith had put Zilge and Gorans on paid administrative leave Aug. 29, the day the video was posted to YouTube. They returned to work Sept. 13, but not to their patrol assignments. Zilge works in the police technology development unit and Gorans is assigned to the Central District’s front desk, Paulos said.

Federal officials have been looking into possible civil rights violations in the arrest. The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division reviewed the case, and an investigation is under way at the local FBI office, said FBI spokesman Kyle Loven. The case will be presented to the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota to determine whether prosecution is warranted, Loven said.

County and city prosecutors reviewed Zilge’s and Gorans’ actions and declined to file charges against them.

The Olmsted County attorney’s office, one of the entities that reviewed the case to avoid a conflict of interest for Ramsey County prosecutors, said Gorans pulled Hightower into a squad car and sprayed him with Mace as Hightower resisted attempts by two officers to put him into the squad.

Mara H. Gottfried can be reached at 651-228-5262. Follow her at twitter.com/MaraGottfried or twitter.com/ppUsualSuspects.