A St. Paul police officer accused of punching a handcuffed girl in the face in the back of his squad car pleaded not guilty to the charge Thursday.
Officer Michael Philip Soucheray pleaded in Ramsey County District Court to the fifth-degree assault charge, a misdemeanor.
Soucheray is accused of punching a 14-year-old girl twice in the face while trying to get her from an emergency shelter to a hospital on Dec. 1. The girl, reported to be suicidal, had spit in Soucheray’s face and was refusing to go, according to a criminal complaint.
The girl — who was being taken from a shelter for girls who had been sexually exploited — was initially charged with assaulting the officer, but the charge was dropped. An internal affairs investigation was opened the day after the incident, conducted by the Dakota County sheriff’s office to avoid a conflict of interest.
Soucheray’s attorney has said the officer’s actions were “based on a self-defense reaction” and that he “reacted with reasonable force.”
Soucheray has been placed on paid administrative leave from the department.