(PHOENIX) A former rookie police officer with the Phoenix Police Department is accused of assaulting a handcuffed man, azfamily reported.
Connor Orth-Smith, 23, allegedly assaulted the man and threatened to "beat his a**," according to court documents.
Orth-Smith reportedly responded to a call from Banner Estrella Hospital security on July 15 around 6:45 p.m. to help get a man who was fighting with them off the property.
That man reportedly asked Orth-Smith to take him to a nearby mental health clinic. He was handcuffed and put into the back of Orth-Smith's vehicle.
According to court documents, the victim changed his mind about where he wanted to be dropped off. Orth-Smith and the victim argued and the police officer was overheard on his body-worn camera allegedly saying "then I'm going to throw you out of this car and beat your a**."
Police paperwork claims that Orth-Smith stopped his car near 99th Avenue and McDowell Road to drop the victim off at a dirt lot. The victim reportedly didn't want to get out, and Orth-Smith allegedly pulled him out of the vehicle, causing him to hit his head on the ground.
Orth-Smith took the man's handcuffs off and told him to leave. Court documents claim the two started to exchange words and Orth-Smith hit him several times in the face with a closed fist, pushed him to the ground, put the handcuffs back on him and punched him several more times.
Several days after the incident, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office contacted Phoenix police about the footage seen in the body-worn camera. Orth-Smith was arrested Friday on suspicion of aggravated assault.
Orth-Smith joined the Phoenix Police Department in May 2020. He has since resigned.