LMPD :: Louisville Metro Police Department
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Louisville Metro Police officer to face criminal charges after allegedly slapping handcuffed man

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A Louisville Metro Police officer is facing misconduct and other charges after striking a handcuffed man in March, according to a court summons issued this month.

Officer David Graham has been on paid administrative leave since April with his police powers suspended, said Dwight Mitchell, a police spokesman.

Graham, 46, was summoned to court on charges of harassment with physical contact but no injury and second-degree misconduct, according to court records.

On March 31, Graham allegedly handcuffed John R. Sanders Jr. - a robbery suspect - behind the back and poked Sanders multiple times in the throat, the summons said.

Graham is accused of then slapping Sanders on the face with an open hand, causing the handcuffed man to fall before being caught by another officer at the scene, the summons said.

A witness captured the incident on video, the summons said.

Sanders, 19, was arrested in the 100 block of West Oak Street early in the morning of March 31 on a first-degree robbery charge.

Sanders and another man, Dejuan Alexander, also 19, were accused of punching, kicking and using pepper spray on a person in Old Louisville and taking items including an e-reader, arrest reports said. Alexander was charged with first-degree robbery and tampering with evidence, for allegedly tossing away the pepper spray.

Sanders and Alexander were being held Wednesday in the jail on $10,000 bonds stemming from the March charges, according to Louisville Metro Corrections.

Graham was assigned to the Fourth Division, Mitchell said. He became a Louisville Police officer in 1999.

The charges against Graham are the result of a Public Integrity Unit investigation, which has concluded, Mitchell said. Louisville Metro Police have launched a Professional Standards Unit investigation, which will look into possible violations of department policy, Mitchell said.