SPIRIT LAKE - Spirit Lake City Councilman Jimmy K. Brown Jr. has been charged with misdemeanor battery and indecent exposure.

Brown's charges stem from an incident in mid-June when he allegedly got into a fight and exposed his penis behind Jo's Hole Saloon on Maine Street.

The criminal complaint filed in Kootenai County court said Brown, 56, allegedly hit a Spirit Lake man named Eric D. Vangemert, 44, several times in the face on June 16. Court documents show Brown was served on Sept. 23. He didn't return a call Friday seeking comment.

The indecent exposure charge stems from the alleged exposure of Brown's penis in front of Vangemert and his wife, Randi M. Vangemert, 43, in the alley behind Jo's saloon.

A pretrial conference-arraignment in the case is scheduled for Oct. 28.

According to the incident report submitted in support of the charges, Brown contacted Spirit Lake Police Chief Gene Marquez and asked if he was exempt from the law since he was a city councilman. Marquez told Brown he wasn't.

Marquez confirmed to The Press that Brown did inquire about a possible exemption. The chief said Friday that Brown also wanted to know why just the Spirit Lake Police Department couldn't investigate the incident.

The case was referred to the Kootenai County Sheriff's Office for investigation due to a potential conflict of interest.

The incident report said Brown and Eric Vangemert exchanged words inside Jo's before they both went outside.

Spirit Lake police officer Michael Wilson responded to the scene at the time of the incident. He observed that the Vangemerts were intoxicated. He also observed a cut on the bridge of Eric Vangemert's nose and that his eyes were swollen.

Randi Vangemert told officer Wilson, "Jimmy just came out and pulled his penis out of his pants, and shook it right in front of me and said, 'This is what a real man looks like, Randi.'"

Wilson said he could not get a statement from Eric Vangemert because he was too intoxicated.

One 23-year-old witness, a Spirit Lake resident who told authorities she didn't know either side in the confrontation, told the sheriff's office investigator she saw Brown hit Vangemert at least two to three times in the face with his fist.