St. Paul police look into report of officer's actions across river

Last update: October 2, 2009 - 11:50 PM

St. Paul police are conducting an internal review after two Minneapolis men said they were beaten in their home by a St. Paul officer.

Police don't have an official complaint in the incident and are working to determine what happened, St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Paul Schnell said.

"Other than what has been reported in the news, we don't know what happened there," Schnell said.

Gelle Hussein, 70, and his son Ahmed, 22, say police entered their apartment without a search warrant, according to a KMSP-TV, Channel 9 report. Gelle Hussein said that his arm was twisted, that he was pushed against a wall and was hit a couple of times and that his son was kicked in the head.

Neither man speaks English, and spoke to KMSP with the help of Omar Jamal of the Somali Justice and Advocacy Center. They said a neighbor helped police figure out that they had the wrong apartment, the report said.

About 2:40 a.m. Monday, a St. Paul officer went with Minneapolis police to the 500 block of Cedar Avenue S. in an attempt to find and arrest a domestic-assault suspect, Schnell said, adding that police had taken a report earlier in St. Paul. No one was arrested in Minneapolis, he said.

VINCE TUSS