San Diego

A former police officer who testified for the defense in the Sagon Penn retrial settled a misdemeanor battery case Friday.

Nathaniel Jordan, 35, claimed his Aug. 21 arrest outside an ice cream store was due to harassment from San Diego police because of his testimony.

Jordan was not present Friday but through his attorney pleaded guilty to parking in a handicapped zone, which prompted the arrest after an officer confronted him about parking there.

San Diego Municipal Court Judge Louis Boyle fined Jordan $50 and dismissed the misdemeanor battery and resisting arrest charges.

Police contend that Jordan resisted the arrest, was belligerent and struck them.

An eight-year veteran, Jordan received a disability retirement from the force last year.

Jordan was represented by Penn’s attorney, Milton Silverman, who had promised to represent him on any future case before Jordan testified in the retrial on May 20.

Jordan, who is black, testified that wounded officer Donovan Jacobs, 30, called him “a nigger” during a confrontation at the police station. Jordan testified Jacobs was “very aggressive and overzealous” in dealing with some suspects.

Penn, 25, who is black, was acquitted July 16 of manslaughter and attempted murder charges in the March 31, 1985, shootings of Jacobs, officer Thomas Riggs, 27, and civilian Sarah Pina-Ruiz, 34.