By Thomas J. Prohaska
Buffalo News
When a Niagara County Court jury deliberates today in the domestic-violence case involving a suspended Niagara Falls police officer, it will have a choice of charges to consider.
Defense attorney Jon L. Wilson told the jurors during his summation Monday that they could choose to convict Mark L. Feldhousen of a misdemeanor assault charge instead of the felony for which he was indicted.
Or the 12-member jury could choose to acquit Feldhousen altogether, which Wilson urged them to do.
Assistant District Attorney Lisa M. Baehre urged a conviction, ridiculing Feldhousen’s contention that he was the victim in the Nov. 12 fight with his fiancee, Shona Hamilton, 40, in the bedroom of her Cudaback Avenue home.
Feldhousen, 59, an officer for 40 years, 39 of them with the Niagara Falls police force, testified that Hamilton attacked him as he lay in bed, clawing and kicking him during one of many incidents in which she accused him of cheating on her.
Hamilton testified that Feldhousen attacked her as she kissed him while he lay in bed, knocking her into two bedroom dressers.
A doctor testified that Hamilton had a concussion, a punctured eardrum and various bruises.
Wilson, however, pointed out that Hamilton tried to contact Feldhousen repeatedly the day after the incident, going to his apartment and finding that he had driven screws into the door frames to keep her from being able to open the door.
“It’s a wacky scenario, but they both confirm it, so it must have happened,” Wilson said. “If she was beaten to a pulp, why would she go over there? Round 2?”
Baehre tried to answer that question.
“After an assault, love doesn’t just stop. It just doesn’t. There’s no switch to turn it off,” the prosecutor said.
Feldhousen testified that he used eight screws because in a previous incident, Hamilton had been able to force open a door held by only four screws.
Baehre told the jury, “It’s not your job to figure out the dynamics of their crazy relationship. You may not even like [Hamilton], but this is not a popularity contest.”
Wilson told the jury that to convict on an assault charge, physical injury must be proven. He noted that Hamilton drove to Florida four days after the alleged assault despite purportedly having a concussion, stopping only for three hours’ sleep.
Wilson showed the jury photos of the alleged injuries, taken by a Florida policewoman, on a laptop computer because they wouldn’t look as bad as the printouts Baehre entered into evidence.
“You’ve got to struggle to see any bruising,” Wilson told the jury.
“He beat her with so much force that he punctured her eardrum, he gave her a concussion, and we dare to question physical injury?” Baehre said.
“He’s trying to get out of the bedroom. That’s all he’s trying to do,” Wilson said. “I submit to you, it’s a justified use of physical force.”
Feldhousen was suspended from the police force after his Dec. 14 arrest.
Copyright 2011 The Buffalo News