An Iowa City police officer, in a social media video, was seen repeatedly punching a person on the ground several times this week before placing them in handcuffs.
The local police department is defending the officer, saying 48-year-old Iowa City resident Jonathan Kim, who was eventually arrested for assault and interference with official acts on Tuesday, allegedly assaulted Officer Alirio Arcenas before the video began.
Iowa City Police Chief Dustin Liston told the Press-Citizen that the entire exchange was recorded on body and police vehicle cameras.
The department, after consulting with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office, will not release their videos to the public, Liston said, because they will be used in criminal prosecution.
The video was filmed on South Gilbert Court, a few blocks east of Riverfront Crossings Park. It shows a man and an officer engaged in an altercation. The Iowa City Police Department confirmed with the Press-Citizen that the video was of Officer Arcenas and Kim. Arcenas appears to strike Kim about 10 times in the head and body before turning him over and placing him in handcuffs.
The person filming the video, which had 72,000 views as of Friday, records for about two-and-a-half minutes. The video was posted by a Facebook profile by the name of Maui Hill.
Arcenas is a 16-year veteran of the department. Liston said the incident is under internal investigation.
A warrant was issued for Kim’s arrest last week after he failed to appear for a March 10 case management conference for a 2024 charge of assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Kim allegedly brandished a knife toward a University of Iowa student near Van Allen Hall.
Iowa City police were attempting to serve the warrant on Tuesday and approached Kim along Gilbert Court, calling out his name. Kim allegedly attempted to walk away from the uniformed officers and when the officer caught up to Kim, he allegedly “began swinging at the officer, striking him in the face.”
Liston said the online video “begins after the initial encounter in which Officer Arcenas was assaulted.”
“The officer took (Kim) to the ground and continued to punch the officer in the face and trying to kick the officer,” a criminal complaint said. “The officer (Arcenas) suffered multiple injuries including lacerations on his hand and a laceration to his lip.”
An onlooker is heard in the video criticizing Arcenas as he handcuffs Kim, saying, “This is illegal. What the f— are you doing?”
The video is unclear if Arcenas responds or what he says, but an onlooker, who isn’t pictured in the video, says, “So you punch him in the motherf— face?”
Arcenas responded, saying, “Yeah, he punched me first. That’s how it works.”
Kim was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily injury on persons in certain occupations and interference with official acts causing bodily injury.