An Auburn police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a video began circulating that appears to show the officer repeatedly punching a man during a struggle in the middle of Auburn Way North on Wednesday afternoon. Police say the encounter began when officers responded to reports of a man running in and out of traffic and trying to enter passing vehicles, and that it ultimately took four officers to bring him under control.
The department said officers were dispatched around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday after reports of the man's behavior near 37th Street NE, according to the Auburn Examiner. Police said the first officer to arrive used a Taser after the man did not comply with commands, and that a physical struggle began when the officer tried to handcuff him. The man and the officer were both taken to hospitals; police said the man did not appear to have serious injuries, while the officer was also treated, as KIRO 7 reported.
What the Video Appears to Show
The video appears to show the officer straddling the man in the roadway while trying to handcuff him, then repeatedly striking him in the head and face, per the same KIRO 7 account. A review of the footage appeared to show about 20 punches. The clip shows the officer striking the man during the encounter.
Auburn police said the officer was placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation into the Oct. 28 altercation, and the department said the incident remains under review, according to the Auburn Examiner's reporting. The agency has not released the officer's name or said whether discipline or prosecution could follow.
A Department With a History of Costly Settlements
The incident lands amid broader scrutiny of use-of-force practices at the Auburn Police Department. The City of Auburn agreed to pay millions in settlements over unrelated cases. The city agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle a civil-rights lawsuit after former officer Jeffrey Nelson shot and killed Isaiah Obet in 2017, and it paid $5.9 million in 2023 to settle a wrongful-death and civil-rights lawsuit over the 2019 police shooting of Enosa “EJ” Strickland Jr., per KIRO 7's reporting. Nelson was convicted in 2024 in the 2019 shooting death of 26-year-old Jesse Sarey and was sentenced to more than 16 years in prison in January 2025, the outlet reported.
Records examined by the Kent Reporter show Auburn police documented 92 use-of-force incidents involving Nelson between May 2011 and November 2018, with 57 of those resulting in injuries requiring medical attention and 35 people hospitalized. The department launched 12 internal investigations into Nelson during his tenure, and only six resulted in disciplinary action, according to the same records.
State Law on Intervention and Force
Washington law requires an identifiable on-duty peace officer who witnesses another officer engaging in or attempting excessive force to intervene when positioned to do so, in order to end or prevent that force, according to RCW 10.93. Separately, officers may use physical force only to the extent necessary for specific legally justified purposes, including protecting against a criminal offense when probable cause exists, under RCW 10.120.020. Whether the force used Wednesday was legally justified has not been determined.
The Washington Attorney General's Office has also launched the Washington State Data Exchange for Public Safety, a system meant to collect use-of-force data from law enforcement agencies statewide to improve transparency and evidence-based policymaking, according to the Washington Attorney General's Office. For now, Auburn police say Wednesday's encounter remains under review, with no timeline given for when that review will conclude.
