Warning: This article contains graphic content that readers may find disturbing.
A man who was shot by a St. Paul police officer Saturday night allegedly forced an ex-girlfriend to perform oral sex on him and repeatedly punched her in the face, all while livestreaming the crime to her social media accounts.
Joseph Javonte Washington, 31, then allegedly kidnapped the woman at knifepoint before crashing her vehicle in St. Paul, where he eventually encountered St. Paul police while hiding naked in a dumpster.
St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell announced during a Tuesday press conference that he took “swift, decisive and serious action” against the officer, Anthony Dean, who shot Washington, a black man. Several media outlets later confirmed that Dean was fired.
“At some point, the man climbed out of the dumpster and ran toward officers, according to preliminary information. Officers deployed Tasers and a K9 in an effort to stop him, and one officer shot the man, who was struck at least twice,” the St. Paul Police Department said in a press release.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety identified Washington as the man who was shot.
Partial body-cam footage released Tuesday shows Washington running toward a group of officers as they explicitly warn him not to do so. Washington was unarmed but reportedly yelled to police that he had a gun, according to dispatch audio.
Prior to his encounter with police, Washington sexually assaulted an ex-girlfriend in her home in Lakeville, Minnesota, according to a criminal complaint obtained by Alpha News. Washington was charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, one count of kidnapping, and one count of second-degree assault.
“At some point, defendant began using victim’s phone without her permission. When she asked for her phone back, defendant punched victim in the face and victim fell to the ground and hit her head on a TV stand. Defendant then grabbed victim by the hair, punched her in the face again, and dragged victim into her bathroom by her hair. Defendant then demanded that the victim perform oral sex on him,” states the complaint.
The victim then attempted to leave the bathroom, but Washington slammed the door, brandished a kitchen knife and threatened to “stab and kill” the victim if she tried to leave.
“Defendant again threatened to kill victim and demanded that victim get into the shower. When defendant ordered victim into the shower, he forcibly removed victim’s diabetic pump. Defendant got into the shower with victim and again demanded that she perform oral sex on defendant. Throughout the assault, defendant repeatedly threatened to kill victim and told her she was going to die tonight,” the charges state.
The complaint says that Washington “repeatedly punched” the victim while he was sexually assaulting her.
“Defendant eventually pulled victim out of the bathroom by her hair and demanded that she get dressed. Victim was only able to put a robe on before defendant again grabbed her hair and dragged her out to the garage” where they got in the victim’s vehicle, the charges add.
At this point, Washington forced the victim to start driving and punched her “every time she attempted to slow down,” according to the charges. He also periodically held a knife to the victim’s throat.
Washington later took hold of the steering wheel, which is when the car crashed in St. Paul near Maryland Avenue and Rice Street. He fled from the scene, still naked, while the victim was stuck in the vehicle. She eventually managed to remove herself from the car and flag down a passing motorist for help, the charges state.
St. Paul police located Washington in a dumpster behind Bradshaw Funeral Home about an hour after the car crash.
“During the sexual assault, defendant used victim’s cell phone to record her and livestream the video on victim’s Facebook and Snapchat accounts. Victim later provided police with two videos of the assault taken by the defendant. Defendant can be heard threatening to kill victim throughout the videos while she performed oral sex on him. At times during the video, the victim can be heard crying. Victim has visible injury to her eye in the video. Victim received multiple text messages from friends alerting her to the broadcast,” the charges conclude.
Chief Axtell said the officer who shot Washington failed to live up to the department’s standards.
“Thankfully, that man survived and is recovering at Regions Hospital,” he added.
The charges contained in the criminal complaint are merely accusations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
