Milwaukee police release video showing conduct of fired officer

MILWAUKEE -- Milwaukee police released on Friday, May 25th the squad cam video which shows the conduct of a fired officer.

42-year-old Richard Schoen was discharged on May 1st for his involvement in an incident that happened in September 2011.

"The evidence was very strong and there was no reason to delay," Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said Friday. "We took appropriate action, and now it will be in the hands of the review authorities."

That evidence was primarily the video from the squad car's dashboard camera which you can click on just below. It shows Schoen hitting a female prisoner, who was handcuffed in the back of his squad, repeatedly in the face.

"Unfortunately, we've got a value system here and the value system maintains that we exercise restraint as well as have integrity, courage and be competent," Flynn added. "This circumstance it was clear to us that the officer did not exercise restraint."

Schoen violated the core value of restraint as described in the department's Code of Conduct, part of which reads: "We use the minimum force and authority necessary to accomplish a proper police purpose. We demonstrate self-discipline, even when no one is listening or watching."

The woman who was struck by Officer Schoen had been pulled over near 51st and Fiebrantz just after 9 p.m. on September 22, 2011. Officials say she had become "argumentative and used profanity" -- both of which led to her arrest.

The video shows Officer Schoen drive the prisoner into the District 7 garage. She stomps her left leg on the floor of the squad and yells that her leg hurt. Schoen opens the rear passenger door and attempts to pull the prisoner out by the bottom of her shirt. He then enters the rear passenger compartment and punches her in the face a few times. He then grabs her by her hair and pulls her from the squad. Police say that once she was out of the squad, Schoen kneed the prisoner in the stomach. That act is not seen on video.

Schoen had been with the Milwaukee Police Department for nine years.