West Allis police officer charged for knee on neck of handcuffed man Anton Best charged with felony misconduct

A 32-year-old West Allis police officer was charged with felony misconduct after he allegedly dropped his knee onto the neck of a compliant, handcuffed man in late January.

The Jan. 30 incident began when police responded to a vehicle with no license plates and heavy front-end damage. The vehicle fled from authorities before crashing in Brookfield. Two occupants abandoned the car and ran.


Officers tracked footprints in the snow and located one of the men in a residential front yard. According to a court document, the man surrendered, lying on his back with his hands in the air.

He followed commands to roll onto his stomach, repeatedly telling police he was cooperating. Three officers knelt beside him to apply handcuffs.

Body Camera Captures Incident

While the three officers secured the man, the suspect arrived at the scene. Bodycam video allegedly shows the officer standing nearby before walking toward the man's head.

According to the criminal complaint, Officer Anton Best hopped and forcefully dropped his left knee onto the man's right neck and shoulder blade area.

The man grunted upon impact. After being escorted to a squad car, he questioned the officers about the physical contact.

 Did you make sure your foot was on my neck, good?  the man asked.

 No, that was me, buddy,  the suspect replied.

 Aww, you?  the man asked.

 That was me, buddy,  the officer said.

 You take pride in that, right?  the man asked.

 Sure do,  the officer responded.

Other officers at the scene corroborated the events. One described the action as an  unnecessary drop knee kick,  noting the man was handcuffed, compliant, and had surrendered. Another officer confirmed the suspect used his body weight to place a knee on the man's upper back and shoulder blade, adding that the man was not resisting arrest.

Following the incident, the man complained of neck pain and appeared to have difficulty holding his head upright.

Department Initiates Outside Investigation

The West Allis 

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