Ex-Flagstaff police officer caught on video punching woman pleads guilty
May 15, 2018, 4:11 PM | Updated: 9:34 pm
(Facebook Photo/Flagstaff Police Department)
(Facebook Photo/Flagstaff Police Department)
PHOENIX – A former Flagstaff police officer caught on video punching a woman in the face during an arrest pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge Tuesday.
Jeffrey Bonar was sentenced in Coconino County Superior to 18 months of unsupervised probation.
The victim’s lawyer would have liked the charge to be more severe.
“We felt that the plea offer was a little bit light, in regards to a misdemeanor, and we wish that it could have gone up to a felony, but we are glad he took responsibility for his actions in this case,” Benjamin Taylor, lawyer for Marissa Morris, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.
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Taylor also said Morris filed a civil suit against the city of Flagstaff, and it’s in the process of being settled.
Bonar, who resigned from the Flagstaff Police Department in 2017, was indicted on Feb. 8 for the November 2016 incident.
A bystander took video of the arrest and posted it to Facebook.
The encounter came during an eviction when Bonar thought there was an active warrant for Morris’ arrest. He wanted to detain her to check and the situation became heated.
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Taylor Kinnerup and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
