To serve and protect? Isn’t that the credo most police officers swear to abide by? Perhaps Duluth police officer Richard Jouppi didn’t get the memo. Or perhaps he failed the ethics portion of police academy training.
Granted, we don’t know everything that happened prior to the man’s arrest, he did threaten to throw his jacket at the woman in the office, and he put his hand on Officer Jouppi’s face; however, it’s still tough to imagine that Officer Jouppi’s actions were justified here. The man clearly wasn’t much of a threat to anyone in the office and could have easily been subdued in a much, much less physical manner.
Fortunately, police officers aren’t above the law. We fully expect Officer Jouppi to face criminal charges for his actions.
Attorney John Arechigo has a passion for criminal defense in St. Paul, MN. John received his J.D., from Hamline University School of Law and also carries a Bachelor of Arts from, The University of Minnesota. John was named Attorney of the Year for 2019 by Minnesota Lawyer. Additionally, John was also named as a 2019 Rising Star and was selected to Minnesota Super Lawyers in 2021. He devotes nearly 100% of his practice to defending individuals charged with a crime.