Desk duty for detective filmed punching handcuffed man

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – A Tennessee sheriff says a white detective filmed punching and kicking a handcuffed black man has been placed on desk duty.

Authorities executed warrants on 24-year-old Charles Toney on Dec. 3, two months after he was indicted on drugs and weapons-related charges. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the video posted online picks up mid-arrest and shows detective Blake Kilpatrick punching him at least six times and kicking him once. Kilpatrick wrote in an arrest report that he thought Toney was reaching for a weapon.

Sheriff Jim Hammond said at a Monday news conference that the case was turned over to the district attorney. The district attorney’s office says they referred it to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The 33-year-old Kilpatrick still competed in Friday’s Guns and Hoses, a police and firefighter charity competition.

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Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press, http://www.timesfreepress.com