North Dakota police officer fired for injuring suspect gets probation after changing plea

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A former North Dakota police officer fired for badly injuring a 63-year-old man during an arrest has been sentenced to probation after dropping his not-guilty plea. The Bismarck Tribune cites court documents in reporting that former Bismarck Officer George Huff entered an Alford plea on Oct. 12 to a misdemeanor charge of simple assault. The plea means Huff didn’t admit guilt but acknowledged there was enough evidence to support a conviction. A judge placed Huff on unsupervised probation for a year. Huff was accused of striking Keith Erlandson several times in the face on March 9. Erlandson suffered severe injuries. Huff was fired in May.