Joseph Manitowabi (Cass County Jail photo)
FARGO (KFGO-KVRR) — One of three Fargo police officers involved in a downtown confrontation captured on a viral video described the incident during a hearing in which the man accused of assaulting the officers pleaded not guilty.
Joseph Manitowabi is charged with three counts of felony assault on a police officer, possession of drug paraphernalia, preventing arrest and refusal to halt.
A video of the incident taken by a KVRR reporter has more than 8.9 million views on social media.
Officer Avery Jensen testified that he has seen the video and verified that the other officers involved are Officer Cole Winter and Officer Latasha Dean.
Jensen said that Manitowabi struck each of the officers after he was told that he was being detained.
“We approached Mr. Manitowabi. We informed him he was being detained for reports of narcotic activity. Officer Winter proceeded to place handcuffs. Once we briefly had his hand behind his back, almost immediately, he started resisting,” Jensen said.
Manitowabi remains in custody. His next court appearance is August 28.
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