Black store owner punched by officer after 911 call

DECATUR, ALA.—An armed Black business owner who called to report a robbery in his store in Alabama was punched in the face by a responding police officer who mistook him for a suspect, police said.

After the March 15 altercation, Kevin Penn, owner of Star Spirits & Beverages in Decatur, suffered a broken jaw, his teeth were knocked out and he needed to get his mouth wired shut, his lawyer, Carl Cole, told AL.com.

Decatur police Chief Nate Allen held a news conference Monday to show footage of the altercation and to be “transparent” with the public, news outlets reported.

The body-camera video shows responding officers coming into the store and the suspect, later identified to be a person involved in an alleged shoplifting at Penn’s store, lying on the ground. An officer walks past the suspect and tells Penn to put down his weapon. Penn refuses saying, “I have a right to have my gun.”

Penn’s lawyer said his client previously told police he was holding the suspect at gunpoint and had showed his gun to let them know he was armed. The video shows Penn telling officers he’s going to file a complaint as they came close to him. Surveillance video from the store shows an officer punching Penn and being joined by two other officers to wrestle him to the ground. He was arrested on a charge of obstructing a robbery investigation, according to court records.

The name of the officer who punched Penn has not been released.