Auburn police officer on leave after video appears to show repeated punches to suspect

The incident happened shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday on Auburn Way. The video appears to show the officer straddling the man in the roadway while trying to handcuff him, then repeatedly striking him in the head and face. A review of the video appears to show about 20 punches.

Auburn police say the man was running in and out of traffic and attempting to get inside passing vehicles. The department says he refused to comply with the first officer’s commands, prompting the officer to use a Taser. That led to a physical struggle, according to police.

“The officer has been placed on administrative leave…” Caught on video… it appears to show an @AuburnWAPolice officer punching a man after the man was tasered – in an apparent attempt to handcuff the shirtless man. More this AM on @KIRONewsradio and @Mynorthwest https://t.co/7nYXH8OUjn

— Luke Duecy (@LukeKIRO) October 29, 2026

Police say it took four officers to gain control of the man and handcuff him. The man did not appear to have any serious injuries, according to police. The officer was also taken to a hospital.

The incident is under investigation. The officer has been placed on administrative leave while investigators examine the use of force.

When is it legal for an officer to punch a suspect?

Under Washington law, officers may use physical force when legally justified, but the force must be necessary under the circumstances. Whether the punches in this case were justified will depend on the man’s actions, the threat he posed and whether the force remained necessary as the encounter unfolded.

The Washington State Patrol’s written use-of-force policy, for example, restricts strikes to the head to situations involving self-defense or defense of others. That policy does not necessarily govern Auburn police, whose own department policies will be relevant to the investigation.

Auburn police have faced scrutiny over past shootings

The investigation comes amid a history of high-profile use-of-force cases involving Auburn officers.

In 2020, Officer Jeffrey Nelson was charged with second-degree murder and first-degree assault in the 2019 shooting death of 26-year-old Jesse Sarey during an attempted arrest outside an Auburn grocery store. Nelson was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to more than 16 years in prison in January 2025.

In 2017, Nelson shot and killed Isaiah Obet after Nelson’s police dog bit him. The city later agreed to pay Obet’s family $1.25 million to settle a civil-rights lawsuit.

In a separate case, Auburn officer Kenneth Lyman shot and killed 26-year-old Enosa “EJ” Strickland Jr. in May 2019 during a struggle with police. Strickland’s parents filed a federal wrongful-death and civil-rights lawsuit alleging excessive force and negligence. The city agreed to pay $5.9 million to settle the case in 2023. The city said the settlement was not an admission of wrongdoing.

The investigation into Wednesday’s incident will determine whether the officer’s actions complied with department policy and state law. The video raises questions about the amount of force used and whether it was justified before the man was handcuffed.

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