Two Men Charged in Separate Assaults on Minneapolis Police

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Two men have been charged in separate assaults on police who had responded to fights in downtown Minneapolis over the weekend.

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said Tuesday that Robert Ford, 21, hit an officer with a stick and Christopher Smith, 39, assaulted several officers with chemical spray.

Authorities said an officer attempted to move Ford, of Minneapolis, away from an ambulance that was transporting an injured person from the scene when Ford hit the officer over the head with a stick. Smith sprayed Mace into the faces of four officers who were trying to take someone into custody, according to the complaint.

Smith fled the scene and was later apprehended by police. Smith admitted to spraying the officers and said he would do so again in the future, the complaint says. Police said Smith has no known address.

Court documents do not list attorneys for the two men.