A 26-year-old Bismarck police officer fired four months ago for allegedly using excessive force on a 63-year-old man now faces a misdemeanor criminal charge stemming from the incident.
George Huff is charged with simple assault after the March 9 incident in which he allegedly struck Keith Erlandson multiple times in the face while holding handcuffs. Erlandson suffered numerous facial injuries.
Erlandson’s family has said he is homeless and has mental health issues. He also has a history of run-ins with law enforcement.
The state Bureau of Criminal Investigation looked into the March 9 incident. Agent Matthew Hiatt in an affidavit filed in the court case said he believes probable cause exists to bring the charge against Huff. State Assistant Attorney General Jeremy Ensrud filed a criminal complaint on Tuesday. Huff was issued a summons to appear in court on Oct. 10 for an initial hearing. If convicted he faces a maximum sentence of about a year in jail and a $3,000 fine. Court records do not indicate if Huff has an attorney.
The Attorney General’s Office did not immediately respond to a Tribune request for comment on why officials decided on a misdemeanor charge. Erlandson’s family didn’t immediately respond to a Tribune request for comment.
Documents previously released in the case state that Huff encountered Erlandson while on duty and responding to a report of a man in the street near 24th Street and Main Ave. in Bismarck. Reports based on statements from both Erlandson and Huff say Erlandson walked away from Huff and Huff attempted to detain him, while calling for additional officers to assist. Prior to those officers arriving, a physical altercation between Erlandson and Huff began with both going to the ground. It was while the pair struggled on the ground that Huff struck Erlandson while holding the handcuffs, according to the documents
Responding officers arrived while Huff and Erlandson struggled, according to Hiatt’s affidavit. Dash cameras in responding officers’ cars and surveillance video from nearby businesses show that struggle before the two go to the ground, but do not show Huff allegedly striking Erlandson’s face except for the final blow — an elbow Huff apparently delivered to Erlandson’s neck area, Hiatt said.
Erlansdon was booked into the Burleigh Morton Detention Center. His booking photo shows pronounced swelling on the left side of his face and his left eye swollen nearly shut. Those injuries required Erlandson to make two trips to an emergency room for treatment, according to the affidavit and the BCI investigation records
Huff when interviewed for the police department’s internal investigation said Erlandson ignored his commands, resisted arrest, appeared to be trying to bite him, violently pulled down on his neck, and pulled at the officer’s duty vest, which housed weapons, according to the police documents. The BCI report states that “Huff described he had a death grip on his handcuffs because he did not want to lose them,” and that he meant to hit with his knuckles, not the handcuffs
One part of the police department’s internal investigation report described Erlandson as suffering from mental illness and having drug and alcohol issues. It went on to say Erlandson had a history of fleeing from officers and resisting arrest
The department’s report concluded Huff “initiated and persisted in close physical contact” with Erlandson and that Huff ignored training on deescalating a situation while waiting for back-up “which he knew was literally seconds away.”
Huff was known for “having a short fuse” and liking to fight, according to one of the responding officers interviewed by the department. Other responding officers said Huff later bragged about Erlandson’s booking
Bismarck Police Chief Dave Draovitch fired Huff on May 21.
Huff appealed his firing to the city’s Civil Service Commission. A hearing was scheduled but later canceled. Christopher Redmann, Huff’s attorney in that matter, told the Tribune at the time that the decision to withdraw the request for a hearing was made “because this case is still pending prosecutorial review and civil service commissions rarely reverse department head decisions.”
Redmann also said that “Officer Huff is not looking to return to the Bismarck Police Department and is looking to mitigate the media exposure this incident has had on his family.” The withdrawal request came four days after video of the Erlandson incident became public
Documents filed with the Civil Service Commission before the hearing’s cancellation show Huff had a number of disciplinary issues while with the police department. Those documents detail fights with other suspects, mistreating people and a number of policy violations including violating COVID-19 protocols and not reporting a number of speeding tickets he had received. Notes in Huff’s 2022 evaluation state “Officer Huff will lose his temper and act unprofessionally.”
Erlandson was not charged in connection with the March 9 incident. Burleigh County States Attorney Julie Lawyer cited “the circumstances of that case” and his mental health issues. She left the decision on any criminal charges against Huff to the Attorney General’s Office.
Erlandson was arrested in July on warrants related to other run-ins with law enforcement. He faces felony charges from October 2022 and this past July for assault on a peace officer, drug possession and several misdemeanors. Mental health evaluations were ordered in both cases. Court records show those cases as inactive. He remains in custody at the Burleigh Morton Detention Center
