Prosecution Rests in Police Trial

Prosecutors on Tuesday rested their case in the Donovan Jackson police abuse trial, as community activists and some legal experts questioned whether the district attorney’s own use-of-force expert had dealt the prosecution a major blow.

The expert witness, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department Cmdr. Charles Heal, testified Monday that he would not have filed criminal charges against former Inglewood Officer Jeremy Morse for slamming the then-16-year-old Jackson against the hood of a police cruiser last summer.

The district attorney’s office downplayed Heal’s statements, pointing to testimony Tuesday from Inglewood Police Chief Ronald Banks and another expert who said Morse used excessive force.

But at the same time, prosecutors closed their case against Morse’s former partner, Bijan Darvish, after presenting little courtroom testimony against him. They also appeared to abandon their claim that Morse used excessive force when he punched the teenager during the videotaped beating.

Much of the focus outside the courtroom Tuesday was on Heal’s testimony, which some African American community activists fear hurt the case -- perhaps fatally.

“Are you telling me that [prosecutors] couldn’t find, out of all the use-of-force experts in the state, in the nation ... one person that would have been loyal to them, and been on the same page?” asked Leo Terrel, a civil rights attorney.

Laurie Levenson, a Loyola Law School professor, said police brutality cases often turn on the testimony of use-of-force experts, making Heal’s statements particularly damaging.

“Any way you look at it, it is disastrous for the prosecution,” Levenson said. “It’s almost as if the prosecution would have been better off with no expert witness.”

Prosecutors called Heal to the stand Monday to help show that Morse used excessive force when slamming Jackson on the hood of a police car.

Under cross-examination, Heal told jurors that Morse acted improperly but said his actions were not criminal. Outside the courtroom Monday, Heal said he testified reluctantly, and only after being subpoenaed.

Morse was charged with assault under color of authority, with prosecutors arguing that he used excessive force when he slammed Jackson against the car and also when he punched him. Darvish is accused of filing a false police report.

Prosecutors appeared to rebound Tuesday as two of their witnesses -- Banks and Los Angeles Police Capt. Greg Meyer, another use-of-force expert -- stood firm under a withering cross-examination by John Barnett, Morse’s defense attorney.

Both testified that Morse’s actions were an excessive use of force. Meyer said that, even if Jackson had been resisting, the car-slam was not justified. The captured images, he said, say it all.

“The videotape ... is extraordinarily clear, no matter what anyone says about it,” he said.

But even so, prosecutors ended their case with little evidence supporting the claim that Morse used unreasonable force by punching Jackson. Heal and a second use-of-force expert admitted that Jackson may have grabbed Morse’s testicles, which would have justified the punch.

In the Darvish case, prosecutors’ main evidence consisted of the police report and the video.

Some activists who have spent time watching the trial in the Airport Courthouse in Los Angeles grumbled that prosecutors were poorly prepared and have not been aggressive enough. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley shares some of the blame, they said.

“What’s up, Steve [Cooley]? Why did you send us Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis?” said Ali, referring to prosecutors Michael Pettersen and Max Huntsman. “We want to know how come their best people weren’t sent out ... instead of a comedy act.”

Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said that prosecutors have presented ample evidence and that critics, many of whom have not watched the entire trial, are not in a position to judge.

“The commitment has always been there from the start,” Gibbons said.

“These are two very dedicated attorneys who feel very strongly about this case, and to insult them by saying they are not doing what they should be doing ... it’s just wrong.”

Times staff writer Olga Rodriguez contributed to this report.