State Troopers Caught on Video Punching Suspect Are Charged With Assault

Two state troopers who were captured on video repeatedly punching a suspect as he slowly exited his vehicle following a long police chase in New Hampshire have been arrested and charged with assault, officials said Tuesday.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Joseph Flynn, 32, and New Hampshire State Police Trooper Andrew Monaco, 31, face criminal charges stemming from their use of force in an arrest in May, New Hampshire Attorney General Joseph Foster said in a news release.

The two officers can be seen in aerial footage allegedly beating 50-year-old Richard Simone, Jr. immediately after the driver who led them on a multi-state pursuit gets out of his white pickup truck and slowly gets on his hands and knees.

Flynn was charged with two counts of simple assault and Monaco was charged with three counts of simple assault, Foster said. They were released on personal recognizance and are set to be arraigned in September. Both have been suspended without pay, according to the Washington Post.

The police chase began in Massachusetts when authorities tried to stop a truck being driven by Simone, the Post reports.