fifteen years for breaking a cop's hand using his face, and we call ourselves the land of the free;

Branson, MO — A Missouri man is fighting for his freedom this month in a trial after being charged with assault for breaking a police officer’s hand — with his face. An Ozark cop repeatedly punched the man in the face, leading to the officer breaking his hand, and now this man faces 15 years behind bars as a result.

On the night of December 14, 2019, Matthew Calhoun was driving down the road and had harmed no one when Ozark Police Department Officer Trevor Spencer claimed he saw him speeding. Spencer never actually confirmed Calhoun was speeding and he admitted in court that he had no radar to confirm the allegations. Nevertheless, he started following Calhoun.

In what amounted to little more than a fishing expedition based solely on a whim, Spencer then began following Calhoun. When Spencer ran Calhoun’s license plate, he found that Calhoun allegedly violated the terms of his probation for drug possession and moved to kidnap the man.

Spencer followed Calhoun as he pulled off the highway and parked in a convenience store before going inside. When Calhoun came out of the store, Spencer was there to strike. The officer turned on his emergency lights and blocked Calhoun’s car in the spot.

According to Spencer, he then proceeded to take Calhoun into custody and a physical struggle ensued. Exactly how that struggle unfolded or who initiated it remains unclear and is a situation of the cop’s word versus the suspect’s word. One thing is perfectly clear however, and that is the fact that the only injury reported by Spencer was the broken hand — from repeatedly punching Calhoun in the face........read more.......