The former Loveland police officer who was fired after being caught on body cam footage punching a detained woman for spitting on him is now facing a misdemeanor assault charge.
Russell Maranto was fired by Loveland Police Department on May 23 after punching a woman he and another officer took to the hospital for help last month. Maranto was employed at Loveland Police Department since June 2022 and was nearing the end of the department’s standard one-year probationary period all officers must complete before becoming a full-fledged police officer.
As we previously reported, two officers were seen on footage taking a woman into custody after receiving reports of someone “wandering in and out of traffic and speaking incoherently.” During the arrest the woman was seen spitting on Maranto and the officer punched her in the face.
The other officer, Nick Hobbs called for more backup and a sergeant to respond and told the sergeant that Maranto had told him “ultimately he was just trying to get her face away” so she wouldn’t spit on him, but ended up hitting her “a little hard,” according to the footage.
Hobbs also told the sergeant he stepped in because he felt Maranto’s reaction to the woman spitting was “a little too excessive.”
A criminal investigation by Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, which was requested by Loveland police Chief Tim Doran, found probable cause to charge Maranto with third-degree assault, a Class 1 misdemeanor, according to a sheriff’s office news release.
As of Thursday evening, online court records did not show formal criminal charges against Maranto. The sheriff’s office said it presented the case to the 8th Judicial District Attorney’s Office Thursday and that a court summons was issued to Maranto.
The woman involved has been charged with third-degree assault, as well, for allegedly spitting on the officer, Doran said in a video update to the community last week.
I saw that video and to be honest I can’t really blame that cop for hitting that bitch!! If it was anyone else I guarantee they would have done the same thing!! I believe it was just a natural reaction that just happened