DENVER – A Denver Police Department corporal faces a misdemeanor assault charge after he allegedly detained a man at a bar and beat him after handcuffing him.
DPD Corporal Michael Oestmann, 37, was charged in the April 14 incident on May 3, according to a news release from Denver District Attorney Beth McCann sent out Friday.
The charge came following a use-of-force investigation by Denver police investigators, according to McCann’s office.
A police report says that Oestmann was “working off-duty as a Denver police officer” on April 14 at Jackson’s Hole Bar in Denver.
The district attorney’s office says Oestmann detained a suspect who had been involved in a fight at the bar, put the man in a chair and handcuffed his hands behind his back.
The man “berated and insulted” Oestmann while seated, and spit in his face, according to the district attorney’s office, to which Oestmann responded by allegedly kneeing the man in the chest and punching him in the face.
The man was transported to Denver Health with cuts to his face.
A Denver DA’s Office report shows Oestmann was cleared of possible criminal charges in July 2009 after he and another officer shot and killed a man who pointed a gun at them.
The Denver Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the charge.
A mug shot for Oestmann was not immediately available. He is set to appear in court on June 4.