A police officer in Billings, Montana, has been placed on leave after allegations that he used excessive force in arresting a woman from the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

Officer Randy Minkoff acknowledges slapping Berdine Gladys Shoulderblade but says he did so because she was resisting arrest and because she was with two men who also needed to be arrested, The Billings Gazette reported.

Five people witnessed the incident and two of them called 911 to report use of excessive force. They said they saw Minkoff slam Shoulderblade on the ground and slap and kick her after she had already been handcuffed.

"I started crying," Shoulderblade told the Gazette. "That's the first time I've ever been treated like that. He should have been more professional. I was even scared to ride down here (to the jail) with him."

Minkoff denies kicking Shoulderblade, something she says did not happen either, although she says he may pusher her with his foot. Shoulderblade was with her brother-in-law and her cousin when the incident occurred.

Shoulderblade lives on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation.

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Officer on leave after excessive force alleged (The Billings Gazette 1/26)