A Prince George's County police officer who used his metal baton to hit a handcuffed suspect was acquitted of assault yesterday by jurors who watched a videotape of the incident and decided that the use of force was justified. After deliberating for about six hours over two days, the Circuit Court jury rejected the prosecution's argument that Cpl. Brian K. Addis, 31, committed second-degree assault in his Oct. 5, 2003, encounter with suspect Vernon S. Bullock. Addis was also acquitted of filing a false report; both charges are misdemeanors. Bullock stole a van at gunpoint and led police on a high-speed chase that ended when the van crashed in the Bowie area. A camera in Addis's patrol car recorded Addis repeatedly kicking Bullock and striking him with the baton as other officers tried to handcuff him. The tape shows Addis hitting Bullock with the baton and kneeing him after he was handcuffed and on the ground. Addis testified that he used force after Bullock was handcuffed because Bullock claimed to have a gun and was reaching for his waistband, as if to grab a weapon. In his closing argument Wednesday, Deputy State's Attorney Robert L. Dean told jurors that Addis took the law into his hands. "The law protects people like Vernon Bullock, just like it protects you and me," Dean said. "We don't leave it to the police to punish."The case against Addis was the first prosecution of a police officer for alleged on-duty misconduct since Ivey took office in late 2002. His predecessor, Jack B. Johnson, who is now county executive, prosecuted 11 officers for alleged on-duty misconduct in seven cases during his eight years as state's attorney, but he gained no convictions. County police signed an agreement last year with the Justice Department under which the police department agreed to make extensive changes in training and procedures to reduce instances of excessive force and other misconduct. Belsky, the defense attorney, said in his closing argument Wednesday that Addis's actions were in keeping with police procedure. "Had he intended to hurt Mr. Bullock, he would have," Belsky said. "Everything he did was perfect police training." [more] and [more]
- SEE the Video for yourself [here]