Report: Off-duty Minneapolis Cops Assaulted, Slurred Black Men at Apple Valley Bar

Three Minneapolis police officers were issued citations for what could have been a racially motivated  assault in Apple Valley. 

The assault occurred in the parking lot of Bogart's last year, on Nov. 19. According to a special report pulled together by the Star Tribune, three off-duty officers—William Woodis, Christopher Bennett, and Andrew Allen—were part of a group of white men who pursued a group of black men into the parking lot, knocked one of them down and beat him. Witnesses said that the attackers shouted racial slurs as the man was kicked and punched.

The three were cited for fifth-degree assault, fourth-degree damage to property and disorderly conduct. Charges against Allen were dismissed, while Woodis and Bennett pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. However, a lawyer for the officers has placed the blame on the alleged victims, saying that they were the aggressors. The attorney, Kevin Beck, also stated that the officers never used racial epithets during the incident, and denied that they had pursued the men into the parking lot.