A trooper repeatedly punched a handcuffed man in the face. The Maine State Police promoted him.

The chaotic 2024 arrest in Limerick, captured on video, raises questions about the state police’s use of force policy and its process for reviewing complaints.

In March of last year, a Maine State Police trooper pinned a handcuffed man to the ground and repeatedly punched him in the face while arresting him at his home in rural York County.

Video footage of the arrest obtained by The Maine Monitor and the Bangor Daily News shows an incident that began calmly but spiraled out of control after troopers threw the man to the ground, later striking his bloodied face as he was restrained and yelling that he could not breathe. The man, Justin Savage of Limerick, 42, suffered a broken nose and severe bruising.

Striking a restrained person in the head is considered a serious use of force that is difficult to justify and should only be used against a subject when they pose a serious threat to the officers or others, according to policing experts. They questioned how Savage could have presented such a threat while restrained on the ground.