‘I screwed this up’: Former Missouri officer charged with punching driver at DWI stop
A former Weston police officer faces an assault charge after allegedly punching a motorist in the face while on duty earlier this year.
Brinlee Ray Acklin, 24, was charged Wednesday with one count of fourth degree misdemeanor assault after cellphone video footage allegedly captured him threatening to punch a motorist before actually doing it. The driver, who is not identified by name in public records, was wearing a U.S. Department of Justice uniform at the time, according to a probable cause statement filed in Platte County.
Acklin, who no longer works as a Weston police officer, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. An attorney was not yet listed for him in court records.
Just after 7:30 p.m. on August 5, Acklin was sent to check on the welfare of a driver who was said to have passed out behind the wheel while parked in the middle of the road facing oncoming traffic in the 1000 block of Welt Street, near Green Dirt Farm, according to the probable cause statement.
Once there, Acklin asked the driver to get into the back seat of his patrol car. Because it was hot outside, Acklin rolled down the back window of his squad car.
Acklin used his cellphone to record the encounter with the suspect, and court documents show the incident was captured by that cellphone video, which was provided to the prosecuting attorney’s office by the Weston Police Department as part of the DWI investigation.
Because Weston police don’t have in-car video or body cameras, Acklin said he set his cell phone up on the hood of his police car with intentions of recording the sobriety test, which the driver then refused to do.
At some point, Acklin said, the motorist became noncompliant. When Acklin tried rolling up the window, he said the motorist stuck his body out the window to the point where his torso was in the way of the window rolling up.
“If you don’t get in the car, I’m going to hit you in the face,” Acklin told the motorist, according to court records.
“Do it,” the motorist said back, court records show.
Acklin then punched the motorist once in the cheek area, according to the probable cause statement.
After, Acklin is heard saying in the video, “That wasn’t excessive, was it?” according to court records.
Detectives with the Platte County Sheriff’s Office began investigating potential excessive use of force by Acklin a few weeks later, on Aug. 31.
“We expect a lot from police officers, who often perform their duties in dangerous situations. It’s a very serious matter when we believe a police officer has violated the duty to serve and protect the public,” Platte County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Zahnd said in a news release Wednesday.
In an interview with detectives on Sept. 2, the motorist said he didn’t remember much about the incident. But he did remember waking up in the detention center.
There, he said he asked an officer who punched him “because my face hurts.”
“I believe it was a fellow officer,” the officer at the detention center replied.
Acklin also spoke with detectives, noting that because the motorist was wearing a DOJ uniform, he initially decided to be nice to him.
“I was like OK this guy probably won’t give me any issues no matter what was going on,” Acklin told the detectives, according to the probable cause statement.
Ackins also told detectives that he never felt like the driver was trying to hurt him. Instead, he said, he punched the man because he was “mad.”
“I’m a man who follows through with my word,” Ackins told detectives, per court records. “If I tell you I’m going to do something, if you’re not complying, I’m going to do that thing. Was it the right choice, no. It’s what happened. I screwed this up.”
Ackins initial court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 6 at the Platte County Courthouse.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 4:44 PM.
