A Minneapolis man faces first-degree assault charges stemming from allegations that he attacked his girlfriend's toddler. Eric Paul Boone, 22, is accused of beating the 21-month-old victim on Oct. 26 in Minneapolis. Investigators said the girl faces life as a possible quadriplegic and may need a permanent tracheotomy.

A Burnsville man is accused of punching a 13-year-old girl in the face during an altercation July 4. Jerome Ellis Cox, 50, has been charged with malicious punishment of a child after he allegedly punched the girl in the face twice when she got in-between Cox and a woman he was arguing with.

Sgt. David Clifford is accused of punching a Ramsey man outside a bar in Andover Saturday evening. Fox 9 says Clifford ran from the scene, but turned himself in Sunday afternoon. He is being held at the Anoka County Jail awaiting charges for first and third-degree assault. The victim is fighting for his life after undergoing two brain surgeries.

Trooper Stephen C. Willert, of Rochester, was headed to Northfield in response to a call about an armed robbery with shots fired just after 3 a.m. Monday, the Red Wing Republican Eagle reports. He was on Highway 57 roughly 60 miles southeast of the Twin Cities when he struck and killed two horses that were on the road. He was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.