A former Minnesota police officer pleaded guilty on Wednesday, May 10 to assaulting a Black man five days after George Floyd was killed in 2020.
Justin Stetson, an ex-officer, pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony assault charge and a misdemeanor charge of misconduct of a public officer or employee. The felony assault charge has a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a fine of $10,000.
The misdemeanor charge has a maximum sentence of one year and a $3,000 fine. Stetson was the only officer charged, and the guilty plea ensures he can’t work in law enforcement in Minnesota again.
On May 30, 2020, Jaleel Stallings suffered a brutal attack by Stetson and other officers during a protest over George Floyd’s death. Minneapolis was under curfew, and Stetson was part of a SWAT unit that set out in an unmarked van to enforce a nighttime curfew.
Stetson and other officers — led by Sgt. Andrew Bittell, according to Minnesota Public Radio — fired 40 mm foam-tipped rubber bullets without warning at people spotted on the street past the curfew as they worked to protect local businesses from looting.
Stallings and three other men were shot at while sitting in a parking lot. He was hit in the chest and returned three shots back at the van with real bullets. No officer was hit when Stallings returned fire. The Army veteran also had a permit to carry the gun.
“I thought I had been shot with a real bullet and was bleeding out,” Stallings later said in a police statement.
He quickly surrendered once he realized it was officers shooting at him after he heard one of the officers say, “shots fired.” Stallings reportedly tossed his weapon, surrendered and got face down on the pavement with his hands in the air and not resisting arrest.
