Brickbat: Community Outreach

A Decatur, Alabama, liquor store owner is suing the city and a police officer who punched him when cops responded to a shoplifting incident he reported. Kevin Penn held the shoplifter at gunpoint and called cops. When police arrived, store surveillance video appeared to show Penn unloaded his gun and placed it on a counter. Officers took the thief into custody. But three of them confronted Penn about his gun. When Penn said he had a right to have a gun, Officer Justin Rippen stepped forward and punched him. The officers then wrestled Penn to the ground, handcuffed him and arrested him for obstruction.