Bodycam video shows ex-amateur boxer high on meth fighting with Fargo police officers
By: Fargo, ND - The Fargo Police Department has released body camera video of a man who assaulted officers in downtown Fargo this summer.
The footage published Thursday, Sept. 11, to the department’s social media accounts shows the moments leading up to the June 7 arrest of 37-year-old Joseph Manitowabi, of Fargo, from the perspective of three officers. It also includes KVRR footage from an apartment near Second Avenue North and Roberts Alley that shows Manitowabi punching and escaping the officers.
Manitowabi was an "amateur boxer," Zibolski previously told The Forum. The police chief called the assault a "surprise attack" by "a dangerous fellow" with "meth-up superpower."
Manitowabi has a criminal history that includes resisting arrest, aggravated assault, simple assault on officers and robbery. Last year, he pleaded guilty to charges that said he hit a person unconscious before stealing their phone in 2023 at Fargo's Downtown Engagement Center, according to court documents.
Shortly after, he cut the same victim's fingers with a machete as the victim confronted him at the downtown Fargo Public Library, court documents said.
Zibolski said his office would release the body camera footage for the June 7 arrest once Manitowabi’s criminal case ended.
Manitowabi pleaded guilty on Monday in Cass County District Court to three counts of simple assault on a peace officer, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, preventing arrest and refusal to halt.
Judge Susan Bailey sentenced Manitowabi to two years in prison.