An Alabama business owner who called the police for help during a robbery ended up on the receiving end of a responding officer’s fist, he says.

Although the incident occurred on March 15th, Kevin Penn, who owns a liquor store in Decauter, didn’t go public with his story until Tuesday. He says he was relieved when officers arrived at his store — until one of them walked up to him and punched him in the face. His jaw was broken and he lost several teeth in the assault, Penn says. Bodycam footage confirms Penn’s account.

However, Police Chief Nate Allen is defending the unidentified officer, saying he mistook Penn — who was holding the robber at gunpoint — for the perpetrator. “It was a mistaken identity,” Allen says. “They didn’t know who the owner was versus the suspect.”

Source: https://www.unilad.co.uk/news/black-man-punched-by-police-after-calling-them-while-his-store-was-being-robbed/