BISMARCK, N.D. – A Bismarck police officer was fired after an internal investigation into whether he used excessive force in an arrest that left a man bloodied with an eye swollen shut.
The Bismarck Police Department said Officer George Huff was fired Saturday for his actions during an arrest in March.
“We will continue to hold ourselves to the highest professional standard of policing to ensure we maintain the trust and respect of the citizens we serve,” the department said in a statement.
Huff’s attorney, Christopher Redmann, said that the firing is about a “police department scared of the cancel culture of officers defending themselves if the optic is bad.”
Criminal charges have not been filed. Findings from the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation have been forwarded to prosecutors.
On March 9, officers responded to a call of a pedestrian in a roadway. Police said the 63-year-old man “began displaying aggressive behavior” when attempts were made to detain him.
Huff was the first officer at the scene and assisting officers reported to administrators that the force he used appeared excessive. Huff was placed on administrative leave and did not return to duties before he was fired, the department said.
Redmann said Huff used “reasonable force” against a suspect who put the officer in a headlock and tried to bite him, then grabbed for Huff’s chest-mounted knife. Redmann said officers in such life-threatening situations are trained to respond with deadly force.
“Instead, Officer Huff again used minimal force and merely punched the suspect several times to stop his attempts to be disarmed and be put in a choke hold,” Redmann said.
Huff will take the case to the city Civil Service Commission, which handles appeals on city employee disciplinary matters, Redmann said.
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