ST. JOHNS — Police said they’ve reopened an assault investigation after a video of an incident began circulating on social media.
The incident happened following a house party in November, and the victim was a woman who was assaulted by “multiple individuals,” St. Johns police said in an Aug. 7 news release.
“During the initial investigation, responding officers determined the victim was severely intoxicated at the time of the assault and had sustained injuries consistent with an assault,” officials said in the release. “However, the initial investigating officer encountered challenges in the investigation. There was no video evidence at the time or cooperating witnesses. Further, the victim did not have enough recollection of the events to assist with the investigation.”
Ultimately, the investigation was closed because there was too little evidence to proceed, police said.
Police said they reopened the case after they saw the video, shot by someone involved in the incident, on Aug. 6.
“The content of this video has provided new actionable evidence which was not available to the investigators at the time of the initial investigation,” police said in the release. “At this time, the SJPD has re-opened this complaint and its completion is a top priority.”
Anyone with information, including video or other evidence, is asked to contact police at 989-224-6721.
Contact Ken Palmer at kpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on X @KBPalm_lsj.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: St. Johns police reopen assault case after video surfaces on social media
Reporting by Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal / Lansing State Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Ken Palmer, Lansing State Journal | USA TODAY Network
