KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Kansas City police officer has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault for punching a suspect several times after the suspect resisted arrest.
Carl S. Counti, 39, pleaded guilty Friday to third-degree assault and was sentenced to two years' probation and 30 days in jail. Counti, a 15-year veteran of the department, also had to resign from the department and will not be allowed to work as a police officer again. If he doesn't successfully complete the probation and other terms of the plea deal he could face one year in prison.
The charges stemmed from the Oct. 5 arrest of a 21-year-old car-jacking suspect. A mug shot taken of the suspect after the arrest shows wounds on his face and his right eye blackened and apparently swollen shut. The police department initiated the investigation.
A probable cause statement said the suspect jumped out of car and ran when he was stopped by an officer. The suspect was captured a short while later but continued to resist arrest. Other officers, including Conti, arrived at the scene and worked to subdue the suspect. At one point, Counti tried to use a Taser on the suspect, but the Taser did not "deploy properly," the probable cause statement said.