A University of Minnesota police officer was charged with assault Thursday after allegedly putting his hands on a woman during an altercation during a traffic incident last summer in St. Paul.
Phillip Jack Lombardi, 49, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with two counts of fifth-degree assault and one count of disorderly conduct for the July 8 incident, according to the criminal complaint filed against him.
All three charges are misdemeanors.
A woman was walking in a crosswalk near Smith Avenue and Chestnut Street in St. Paul when a car suddenly turned the corner and nearly struck her, the complaint said.
Frustrated, she told officers she kicked the vehicle, leading to a verbal exchange between her and the driver, Lombardi. She said Lombardi then drove a short distance ahead, got out his car, came toward her and “extended one arm toward her neck and grabbed her,” the complaint said.
Lombardi reportedly ran off after a passer-by started yelling at him.
A witness was able to take a photo of him as well as his license plate to provide to police.
When later questioned about the incident with the woman, Lombardi said he was a police officer with the University of Minnesota and that he hadn’t “grabbed her by the throat” but had instead “placed (his right arm) on the victim’s shoulder and moved her backwards,” the complaint said.
He added that he only had his hand on her for “a second,” and that he left after the woman started screaming because he was scared of getting caught in the middle of a crowd.
He said the confrontation took place after the woman kicked the front panel of his car. He said the kick did not appear to damage the vehicle.
A witness said he heard Lombardi and the woman arguing loudly before he saw Lombardi follow her on the sidewalk and eventually “(grab) her by the neck,” the complaint said.
The physical contact allegedly caused a bruise under the woman’s collarbone.
Lombardi could not be immediately reached for comment.
He has no known criminal record in Minnesota.
The case was investigated by a sergeant with the Dakota County sheriff’s office because the woman is an employee of the city of St. Paul.
