Moorhead officer charged for assaulting woman

A Moorhead Police officer is charged with one felony count of aggravated assault after an incident at Sanford Hospital last month.

According to court documents, 33-year-old Matthew Lambert struck Jennifer Thomas in the face with his elbow, causing a broken nose and a contusion to her right eye.

Moorhead Police had arrested 47-year-old Thomas on Sept. 9, after they got a call about a suicidal woman with a handgun at Buffalo Wild Wings telling people they should leave the building.

Documents say that Fargo Police were called to Sanford Hospital later that evening. Lambert told Fargo officers that he brought the woman to Sanford Hospital for 'clearances purposes.' He says Thomas stood up from her hospital bed and when he tried to get Thomas to sit back down, she spit on Lambert's face.

Lambert went on to tell officers that he then tackled Thomas, saying he thought Thomas struck her face on part of the bed when he tackled her. Officers noticed injuries on Thomas' face and took photos of them.

However after further investigations, detectives found that it was actually Lambert who struck Thomas with his elbow when she was handcuffed.

Although it's routine for people to have their mug shot taken when they are charged with a crime, we were unable to get any photos of Lambert today.

Lambert is on unpaid administrative leave. We reached out to Moorhead Police but they declined to comment.