Police1 Critical Alert
LOS ANGELES - A judge declared a hung jury Tuesday in the police brutality case against a white former officer who punched and slammed a handcuffed black teenager onto a squad car during a videotaped arrest.
The jury deliberated more than three days without reaching a verdict in a case that raised racial tensions and drew comparisons to the Rodney King beating.
Former Inglewood officer Jeremy Morse, 25, was charged with assault under color of authority.
His partner, Bijan Darvish, 26, was found not guilty of falsifying a police report.
They both could have received as much as three years in prison if convicted.
The jury was deadlocked 7-5 in favor of conviction in the case against Morse.
Someone in the courtroom yelled, “No justice here!” and was silenced by Superior Court Judge William Hollingsworth Jr.
People standing outside the courthouse held signs saying “Peace After the Verdict,” hoping to prevent riots like the ones that devastated the city after four white police officers were acquitted of state charges in the videotaped beating of King in 1992.
Morse was white and the teen, Donovan Jackson, is black.
The Los Angeles Police Department has been placed on a citywide tactical alert. The designation allows for increased deployment of officers if needed in the wake of the reading of the verdict in the Inglewood police beating case.
While the jury was deliberating, a coalition of government, church and community leaders urged calm. Hundreds of volunteers, including some former gang members, planned to flood the streets after the verdict to plead for peace.
The incident began when Jackson came out of a convenience store after buying gas and a bag of chips to find Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies questioning his father about expired license plate tags.
A bystander videotaped part of the arrest and it soon made national headlines, sparking protests in the heavily minority city of Inglewood, about 10 miles south of downtown Los Angeles.
Both sides acknowledged that Jackson made suspicious motions when confronted by officers - he put his hands in his pockets - and resisted arrest. He flailed with officers who took him to the ground after he got out of a police car.
The videotape began after that point. It showed Morse lifting an apparently limp Jackson by his collar and belt and slamming his head down on the trunk of a police car. Morse then punched the teen in the head after Jackson allegedly grabbed his testicles.
Jackson’s parents said he has a learning disability and has difficulty in understanding and following instructions. Prosecutors suggested that may have been why he failed to follow police orders.
Jackson was not seriously injured. On the witness stand, the teenager gave inconsistent answers about whether he was conscious when Morse slammed him and said he didn’t remember much of the incident. He also denied striking or injuring any officers.