Cop charged following excessive force investigation of suspect’s arrest, NC police say

An Asheville police officer was suspended and charged with simple assault Friday, following an investigation into a February arrest, according to the department.

Senior Police Officer Anthony Sorangelo responded to a call Feb. 11, along with several other officers, of an intoxicated man who was lying down on Hendersonville Road, the department said in a statement released Monday, June 29.

As Sorangelo was making the arrest, the man “became agitated and combative,” and Sorangelo used force to get him into the police car, the statement said.

The use of force was reported as meeting the department’s use of force guidelines, but after reviewing the case himself, Chief David Zack called for a criminal investigation and notified the Buncombe County District Attorney.

At the DA’s request, the State Bureau of Investigation looked into the arrest. Based on the SBI’s findings, the DA asked Sorangelo to be charged with misdemeanor simple assault, according to the statement.

He has been suspended “pending the completion of an internal review.”