ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo.—A now-former Northwoods police officer awaits extradition from North Carolina on assault and kidnapping charges filed Monday stemming from an arrest at a drug store in the small north St. Louis County municipality earlier this month.

What You Need To Know

  • Northwoods Police office Samuel Davis is accused of driving a shoplifting suspect to nearby Kinloch, beating him with his baton and using pepper spray

  • Northwoods police chief Dennis Shireff said said the victim was taken to Kinloch at the victim's request, after the store decided it didn't want to prosecute him, and it had recovered the stolen merchandise.

  • Shireff said there were several other occasions where the man, who he said suffers from mental illness and was intoxicated at the time of the July 4 incident, would be taken to other locations, including a relative's home. 

  • Related Story: A second Northwoods police officer charged in brutality case

Samuel Davis, 26, took a persistent shoplifting suspect into custody at a Walgreens in Northwoods on July 4. 

According to a probable cause statement filed in court documents, Davis had the handcuffed suspect in the back of a patrol car, turned off his body-worn camera, didn’t tell dispatchers he had someone in custody, and drove to a location in Kinloch where Davis used pepper spray on the victim, hit him with his baton and told the man to stay out of the city of Northwoods.

The incident left the victim bloodied and with a broken jaw, according to court documents.

Prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Davis on Friday. A St. Louis County Police spokesperson said Davis, who had been on administrative leave after the incident, was arrested in Fayetteville, N.C. Monday. It was not immediately clear why Davis was in North Carolina.

“These actions put a black eye on all law enforcement officers who are doing their jobs the right way and who are tired of their profession being dragged through the mud because of the bad actions of a few,” said St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell. ”We intend to hold anyone who engages in such terrible and reckless behavior accountable for their actions, regardless of their position or title,” he said.

"As police officers, we uphold the ideals of serving and protecting in our thoughts as well as in our actions. Words can barely begin to express the disappointment and the failure of what appears to be a reckless disregard for the humane treatment of others and the solemn duties of a law enforcement officer," Northwoods police chief Dennis Shireff said in a statement. 

Shireff told Spectrum News that Davis was terminated for "conduct unbecoming" Monday. Shireff said the victim was taken to Kinloch at the victim's request, after the store decided it didn't want to prosecute him, and it had recovered the stolen merchandise.

Shireff said there were several other occasions where the man, who he said suffers from mental illness and was intoxicated at the time of the July 4 incident, would be taken to other locations, including a relative's home. 

Davis will be held on a $750,000 cash-only bond after extradition. St. Louis County police had no new information Tuesday on the extradition process.