Hartford Cop Is Arrested After Punching Female Suspect In The Face After She Spits On Him

A Hartford Police sergeant was arrested after he reported punching a woman in the face who was under arrest.

On March 14, Hartford police arrested Felicia Jenkins in connection to a domestic violence incident.

Jenkins was allegedly at a victim’s home and was refusing to leave.

She was arrested and charged with breach of peace and trespass.

When Jenkins was brought to the police department for processing, she was allegedly using racial and derogatory names towards the officers.

It was also reported that Jenkins threatened to punch or slap the officers as well as spit at them.

In a police report, Sergeant James Guzie struck Jenkins in left side of her face on the jaw line to “cause a stunning affect to Jenkins to end her assaultive behavior.”

Following this incident, the Hartford Police Department made a referral of Guzie to the Hartford State’s Attorney.

On Monday, the Hartford State’s Attorney announced Guzie was being charged with third-degree assault.

Guzie is on administrative leave pending the resolution of his arrest.

“No matter the behavior of the arrestee, the officer should never have reacted the way he did and it’s simply unacceptable,” said Police Chief Jason Thody. “We review every use of force, and our review process led us to the conclusion that his conduct could be a violation of law and policy. We had not received a complaint, and we proactively referred this incident to the State’s Attorney. We worked with the State’s Attorney on this investigation, and our officers conducted a professional and impartial review of the force used in this incident. While this incident should not have happened, it is evidence that our use of force review process is thorough and effective and that we take accountability seriously.”

Police have released the body camera footage of the incident.