D.A. Rejects 3rd Trial for Ex-Officer

Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley announced Friday that he would not prosecute a former Inglewood police officer a third time on a charge of assaulting a teenager during an arrest caught on tape and broadcast worldwide.

Cooley said he did not believe 12 jurors could agree on whether Jeremy Morse broke the law when he picked up Donovan Jackson and slammed him onto a patrol car. The first jury deadlocked 7 to 5 for conviction and the second jury split 6 to 6.

“Discussions with jurors after the first and second trials indicate that it would be improbable, based on the evidence, that there ever could be a unanimous verdict,” Cooley said in a written statement.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Hollingsworth Jr. dismissed the felony charge against Morse, who was fired from the Inglewood Police Department after the July 2002 incident. Hollingsworth, who presided over both trials, said he agreed with Cooley’s decision.

“I’m convinced that the chances of reaching a unanimous decision, either way, is virtually nil,” Hollingsworth said during a brief hearing at a courthouse near Los Angeles International Airport.

Cooley’s failure to win a conviction and his decision not to retry the case is expected to become an issue in his bid for reelection as five candidates face him on the March ballot. One of them, Roger Carrick, issued a statement Friday stating that Cooley “disappoints all of us in his failure to doggedly address and rectify police conduct.”

Although state prosecution is over, federal officials said Friday that they would review the case to determine whether Morse violated Jackson’s civil rights.

“At the request of the Department of Justice, we will review the district attorney’s materials, other evidence, including transcripts from the two trials, and conduct whatever additional investigation that is deemed necessary,” FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley said.

Assistant U.S. Atty. Caroline Wittcoff, who heads the civil rights section in Los Angeles, said authorities must decide by July 2007 whether there is a basis for prosecuting the case. “The FBI has been gathering documents and other evidence,” she said. “It is not as if they have done nothing in this case.”

Morse and Inglewood also face civil lawsuits seeking monetary damages. Cameron Stewart, who represents Jackson, said the criminal dismissal would not affect the civil lawsuit. All 12 jurors must agree to convict in criminal cases, but unanimity is not required to impose liability on the city or the officer. Civil lawyers also face a much lower standard of proof than prosecutors.

“We’re disappointed with the outcome of the criminal case,” said Stewart, who works for Johnnie L. Cochran Jr. “But it will not deter us from our pursuit for justice for Donovan Jackson.”

John Barnett, who represented Morse in both trials, said his client is relieved that the criminal case is over and he can move on with his life.

“I think the prosecutors made the appropriate decision,” Barnett said. “There is just no way 12 people are going to agree on this.”

Cooley said prosecutions against police officers are difficult. “The community ultimately decides what police conduct is proper and what is improper,” he said in the statement.

The confrontation occurred July 6, 2002, at an Inglewood gas station after two sheriff’s deputies stopped to ask Jackson’s father about expired registration tags on his car. When Jackson, then 16, came out of the station snack shop, he failed to comply with officers’ orders to get in the car. Inglewood police arrived to help and a scuffle ensued. The officers wrestled Jackson to the ground against his resistance and handcuffed him.

At that point, as seen on the video, Morse picked up Jackson, whose body was limp, and threw him onto the patrol car. A grand jury indicted Morse on a charge of assault under the color of authority, punishable by up to three years in prison.

The first trial took an unexpected turn when the prosecutors’ own expert testified that Morse’s actions did not warrant criminal prosecution. In the second trial, prosecutors called a different expert, who testified that Morse used unnecessary force. But jurors heard other experts called by the defense who said Morse’s actions were justified.

Jurors said they watched the video more than two dozen times during deliberations but could not decide if Jackson was conscious when he was thrown onto the patrol car, or if he was resisting. One juror, Jeanne Clarke, said she did not think the force was excessive because the teenager was not seriously hurt. But the jury foreman, Gary Livingston, said he voted for guilt because he believed Morse acted out of anger.

Livingston, a tax analyst, said he did not believe prosecutors should try the case a third time.

“It is a perception case,” he said. “As strongly as I feel about this case, I think it would be a statistical anomaly to find 12 randomly selected people to agree on this.”

In Inglewood on Friday, reaction was mixed. The town was quiet, despite earlier fears that the deadlocks might spark civil unrest.

“I thought it was an open-and-shut case, police brutality, no question,” said Sonny Wells, 48, who owns a barbershop.

Daugne Cantley, 37, said Cooley’s decision sends the wrong message. “Police can’t have a productive relationship with young people if they are known for attacking people and getting away with it,” Cantley said. “There’s no respect on either side because of incidents like this.”

Noel Bomar, 44, said Morse should have shown more restraint.

“If I were to disagree with a cop and spit in his face, he still has no right to punch me,” he said. Bomar said a third trial should be held because “justice needs to be served.”

Berni Edwards, 43, who was eating lunch at the Soul Food Kitchen on Manchester Boulevard, said the Inglewood Police Department needs to look at its policies and training programs.

“There’s no way that officer would have done this kind of thing unless it was accepted within the department,” Edwards said. “That behavior is learned.”

But Maria Rodriguez, 18, said she thought Cooley made the right decision. The video did not show everything that happened at the gas station, she said.

Ed McGovern, who has lived in Inglewood for nearly three decades, agreed.

“I think it’s just costing too much money,” said McGovern, a retired aircraft mechanic. “It just shows that it’s really hard to prove what they consider excessive force.”

But Jackson’s cousin, D’Ixara Batani-Khalfani, broke down in tears outside court, saying Morse needed to be retried so police would not believe it is acceptable to abuse people. “It’s just totally unfair,” she said. “It’s an injustice system, not a justice system.”

Batani-Khalfani, 19, said Friday that Jackson and his parents were upset and thought that Morse should be retried.

John Shallman, who is heading Cooley’s campaign, said the district attorney did exactly what people expect from a professional prosecutor.

“When a jury can’t come to a decision, he owes it to taxpayers to move on,” he said. “Any law enforcement officer who crosses that line again will be brought to a court of law, just as it was in the case of Mr. Morse.”

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Times staff writers Greg Krikorian, Sara Lin and Erin Ailworth contributed to this report.