Jeremy Morse hauled a handcuffed, limp teenager off the ground and threw him onto the trunk of a patrol car in a show of force that was excessive and unnecessary, prosecutors said Wednesday as they laid out their case against the former Inglewood police officer.
But defense attorney John Barnett told jurors that Morse, caught on videotape by an amateur cameraman, used reasonable force to restrain Donovan Jackson as he violently resisted officers at a gas station in July 2002. Morse employed a technique called "wedging" that officers are trained to use when confronted with resistance, Barnett said.
The opening statements suggest that the second trial of Morse is likely to be similar to the first, which ended in a mistrial six months ago. They also highlighted the core issue of the case -- whether Morse's conduct, shown in part on the widely circulated videotape, was justified.
The one significant change, which could be critical to the case, is that prosecutors do not plan to call Sheriff's Cmdr. Charles Heal, who testified in the first trial that Morse's actions were excessive but warranted only discipline and not criminal charges.
Jurors who deadlocked seven to five for guilt said Heal's testimony hurt the prosecution. For the retrial, prosecutors will call Joseph Callanan of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, who is expected to testify that Morse used unnecessary force.
Morse, 26, could receive up to three years in prison if convicted of assault under the color of authority.
Jackson, 18, the first prosecution witness, testified Wednesday that police officers beat him, struck him with a flashlight and choked him until he blacked out. Speaking softly and in choppy sentences, Jackson said he did what the officers told him to do and that he didn't try to scratch, hit or kick any officers during the confrontation, which left him with a swollen cheek and a bloody mouth.
He testified that he came out of the gas station and saw two deputies talking to his father. One of the deputies told him to take his hand out of his pocket and sat him down in the patrol car.
Then, he testified, "I saw four or five officers rushing toward me." When he got scared and stood up, one of the officers "socked me in the jaw" and took him to the ground, he said.
"Then I passed out," Jackson told jurors, saying that the next thing he remembered was walking to a police car. After watching the videotape, Jackson again said he couldn't remember being hit or slammed onto the patrol car by Morse.
