Arrest report names CPD officers, man on ground seen in weekend video in front of Harpo’s
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
A Columbia Police Department arrest report gives the names of two officers under investigation and a man who was arrested early Sunday outside of a Downtown bar.
A video was recorded by a resident showing officers attempting to detain a man who was on the ground. One police officer could be seen eventually striking the man in the face five times. The video quickly circulated online.
According to the arrest report, the officers involved in the incident are Gardner Pottorff and Keenen Shouse.
According to the incident report, the officers were responding to a disturbance around 12:45 a.m. Sunday outside of Harpo's on South Tenth Street.
The video shows both officers attempting to detain Lee Martin, 26.
The video shows Pottorff throwing the punches while Shouse is attempting to hold Martin down. The arrest report says Martin is accused of two felonies and two misdemeanors.
The felonies are third-degree assault and resisting arrest. The misdemeanors are trespassing and fourth-degree assault. No charges have been filed, according to Casenet. The Boone County Prosecutor's Office declined to comment when asked if it had received reports on either Martin or the two officers.
The officers involved are on leave, according to a news release from the department.
CPD is conducting an internal affairs investigation and has asked the Boone County Sheriff's Office for an independent criminal investigation.
Donald Weaver, a lawyer for the two officers, told ABC 17 News in an email on Friday evening that Pottorff’s actions were justified.
“Under the law and policy police use of force can only be evaluated based on the facts and circumstances perceived by the involved officers at the time. Without that information, a legitimate opinion cannot be formed,” Weaver wrote. “I hope to provide context and information about their perspective in the coming days. In the meantime, and without passing any judgment on this incident, please remember that if you resist arrest and especially if you kick a uniformed police officer in the ribs—force will be used (and you might even get punched in the face).”
A CPD spokesman said the department had no additional information to release Friday afternoon. He referred questions about how long the officers' had worked for CPD to the city's human resources department.
Pottorff was the Columbia Police Foundation's "Rookie of the Year" in 2022, according to a news release from the city. A special prosecutor did not charge Pottorff that same year for shooting at Quillian Jacobs following a shooting on Fifth Street in 2021.
A Columbia Police Department tweet said that Shouse started at the department in Dec. 2020.
