Lawyers Clash in Trial of Videotaped Beating

Displaying now-familiar images of a policeman striking a teenager, prosecutors clashed with defense attorneys Wednesday over whether former Inglewood police officer Jeremy Morse is a rogue cop who deserves punishment or a responsible officer who used justifiable force to subdue the youth.

The comments came during opening statements in Morse’s trial for allegedly abusing Donovan Jackson, the high school student whose videotaped beating last summer sparked protests and drew national attention.

The trial opened almost one year to the day after the incident on July 6, 2002. The 60-seat courtroom in Los Angeles was jammed with media and activists, as well as family, friends and lawyers of the participants.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Pettersen began with two images of Morse manhandling Jackson, taken from a videotape of the incident that was broadcast around the world.

Defense lawyers countered with photographs showing Morse’s bloody neck and ear, injuries they said he suffered at the hands of Jackson. The officer’s actions, which included slamming the teenager on the car and punching him in the face, were justified, said John Barnett, Morse’s attorney.

“He had a responsibility to use force,” Barnett said.

Morse, 25, who was fired after the incident, is charged with assault under color of authority.

Another officer, Bijan Darvish, 26, who remains on the force, is accused of filing a false police report. If convicted, both could face three-year prison terms.

The jury consists of six women and six men, including one African American. During jury selection, prosecutors had accused the defense of systematically excluding blacks (Jackson is black; Morse is white). The defense vigorously denied the charge. The judge then ordered a black male juror, previously dismissed, to be seated.

Jurors, during opening statements, heard starkly differing accounts of what transpired at the Thrifty gas station on Century Boulevard after officers questioned Jackson’s father, Coby Chavis, about his expired license plates.

Both sides said a scuffle ensued between officers and the then-16-year-old Jackson, but prosecutors argued that Morse was the aggressor. Pettersen then gave his own play-by-play of the videotape.

“It ... captures Jeremy Morse picking up a limp, apparently lifeless, non-moving Donovan Jackson, swinging him around ... lifting him to shoulder level, and slamming him down on the trunk of a police car,” he said.

After Morse strikes Jackson on the side of the head, Pettersen said, he would have hit the teen again, but a fellow officer intervened. Pettersen said Jackson was confused, but never resisted, only “flailed” to protect himself from a beating.

“He is flailing his legs, he is flailing his arms, reaching out in a desperate attempt to stop this from happening,” Pettersen said.

But Barnett said another videotape taken by surveillance cameras at the station, along with testimony from other officers, will show that Jackson attacked officers and resisted with “as much force as he could muster.”

Morse was obligated to follow his training for subduing suspects, Barnett said.

Though prosecutors described Morse as slamming Jackson on the car, Barnett said he used a “wedge” maneuver sanctioned by the Inglewood Police Department.

Because the police car’s metal trunk is flexible, Barnett said, the videotape exaggerates the impact of the blow. Moreover, Barnett said, Jackson was not harmed. “Donovan Jackson suffered no injury from the wedging technique, so it couldn’t have been too much force,” Barnett argued.

He repeated earlier claims that Morse punched Jackson because the teenager was grabbing his groin. Barnett said he plans to show jurors a segment of film that shows Morse flinching with pain.

Attorneys spent less time on the Darvish case. His lawyer, Ronald Brower, dismissed prosecutors’ claims that the officer mischaracterized how Morse treated Jackson in custody.

Prosecutors say Darvish lied by saying that Morse “assisted” Jackson to his feet. Brower said Darvish never saw how Morse moved Jackson to the car because he was distracted by a knee injury.

Jackson is scheduled to testify as the first witness today.

Times staff writer Akilah Johnson contributed to this report.