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. A 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 said the man was running in and out of traffic and attempting to get inside passing vehicles. The department said 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 said 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.

Pastor calls for oversight as former sheriff urges thorough investigation

A local pastor said the video reinforces the need for civilian oversight, warning that without the Police Advisory Committee, residents lose a voice in accountability and trust in law enforcement could erode.

A former sheriff said the video is troubling, but cautioned against judging the officer before a thorough investigation determines whether the repeated punches were necessary and justified.

Pastor: ‘This is why we needed the PAC’

Pastor LaShund Lambert, a member of Auburn’s Police Advisory Committee, said the video of the officer repeatedly punching a suspect underscores why the city needs an active civilian oversight group.

“This is why we needed the PAC,” Lambert told KIRO Newsradio. “Without a committee to review incidents and give residents a voice, situations like this could deepen animosity and make it harder to keep communities safe.”

Lambert said the committee had pushed for greater transparency after learning that former Auburn officer Jeffrey Nelson continued to be paid while facing a murder case. In 2020, 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.

“We wanted transparency about how these things happen, because when we found out that Jeff Nelson was still being paid, there were council members that found out within days of when we found out … we thought that was unacceptable,” Lambert said. “If we’re going to be able to trust the system, we figured everybody in leadership should be available.”

Lambert also questioned why the committee was placed on hiatus after raising concerns about transparency and accountability. He said he even offered to resign if that would allow the committee to continue meeting, but was told only that meetings would not be held. He claimed no meetings have been held since December 2025.

Lambert said he has faith in Auburn police Chief Mark Caillier and other department leaders to do the right thing, but wants policies and meaningful public dialogue that give residents confidence in the system.

“I believe their heart is to do what’s right; I would hope that policy would align with their heart to bring safety to our community,” Lambert explained. “As a Black man who has four Black sons, who have a multiracial congregation, and a very tense environment in our country, if we don’t have the protection of law enforcement to just keep us safe and not attack us, that puts me as a leader in a very challenging spot.”

He also worried that without the committee, there may be safety concerns for the officer and the suspect.

“Without a real explanation of what the policy was that led to this interaction and what happened before and after, we could end up demonizing somebody that was well within the bounds of what they were trained to do,” Lambert said. “And on the opposite side, we can have somebody in our city that is a danger that is not held to high levels of accountability. Both are unacceptable to me.”

So far, the Auburn Police Department and Auburn Mayor Nancy Backus have not replied to our questions.

Former sheriff: Investigation must determine whether force was justified

Former King County Sheriff John Urquhart, who has watched the video, said the footage is troubling, but cautioned against reaching a conclusion before investigators establish what happened before and during the struggle.

“You look at the video, and it’s certainly jarring by what you see,” Urquhart explained. “Everybody that sees that video is going to judge it, but they need to withhold that judgment until the investigation is complete. That’s what’s most important. We don’t know what happened before. We don’t know what was going to happen in the future. We don’t know what other tools he may have had, or may have tried, or could have done differently, so he didn’t have to punch the guy a bunch of times.”

Urquhart also said he’s dealt with similar incidents as sheriff, including deputies punching suspects repeatedly.

“Yes, it happens,” Urquhart acknowledged. “My response was, ‘I don’t like it. Let’s see what happened. Let’s see why you were doing that. Tell me, officer, why you felt you had to punch the guy in the head that many times, and there may be a good reason for it.’ But until there is the investigation, until we can talk to the officer and find out what he was thinking at the time, what else the suspect had done.”

Urquhart raised questions about whether the suspect was on drugs, how strong the suspect was – that perhaps the officer needed to exert a certain level of force. But, he said, that doesn’t excuse the incident at all.

“All we have is this video, and I’m not going to make excuses for the officer. That’s for darn sure. But what I will say is, let’s wait and find out what all the facts are,” Urquhart said.

Auburn police have faced scrutiny over past shootings

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

The Nelson case, cited by Lambert, ended in a conviction in 2024 on charges of second-degree murder and first-degree assault. Nelson was 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.

Follow Luke Duecy on X. Read more of his stories here. Submit news tips here.