Fired Officer to Face Retrial

The videotaped image of an Inglewood police officer slamming a teenager onto a patrol car is no longer fresh in people’s minds. Civil rights activists have stopped protesting en masse in front of the Los Angeles courthouse. And the rows of television cameras have shifted their attention to Michael Jackson, Scott Peterson and other high-profile cases.

But in a courtroom in the shadows of Los Angeles International Airport, attorneys are preparing for the retrial in the brutality case of former Inglewood Police Officer Jeremy Morse, who was fired in October 2002. The case, though out of the limelight, still comes with major stakes for both the Los Angeles County district attorney, who could use a conviction in the case as he seeks a second term, and for a community seeking closure.

Jurors in the first trial split over whether Morse was guilty of having used excessive and unnecessary force against 16-year-old Donovan Jackson at an Inglewood gas station. A Superior Court judge declared a mistrial in July.

Attorneys will begin questioning prospective jurors this week and expect to give opening statements next week.

Legal observers say it will be harder this time for prosecutors to win a conviction against Morse, 26. Now that the defense attorney has seen the evidence and the prosecution strategy, they said, he can tailor his case accordingly.

“Second trials are tougher for the prosecution,” said Art Patterson, senior vice president for the jury consultant firm Decision Quest. “All the witnesses have said what they are going to say. The defense knows where the prosecution is weak and where they are strong.”

Prosecutors say Morse was an out-of-control officer using excessive force on a handcuffed teenager who appeared passive in the video. But defense lawyer John Barnett counters that Morse used appropriate force to gain control of Jackson after the teenager grabbed and kicked at the officer.

The district attorney’s office believes it has a good chance of getting a unanimous guilty verdict, spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said. Still, the case is far from a slam-dunk.

“Any time you have a case involving the use of excessive force, they are not as easy as they appear,” Gibbons said. “They are difficult cases to try. But we believe the evidence in this case is strong and that, when we present it in court, the jury will see it our way.”

Attorneys for both sides say the case will be essentially the same in the second round.

One change could be in the experts called to the stand by prosecutors to testify that the slamming was excessive. One of the experts in the first trial hurt the prosecution case when he testified that he would not have recommended filing criminal charges against Morse.

Sheriff’s Cmdr. Charles Heal told jurors that Morse’s actions had been excessive but that they warranted only discipline. He also expressed empathy for Morse. One juror later said that Heal’s testimony had worked against the prosecution and “really stuck in people’s heads.”

Prosecutors wouldn’t say whether they would call Heal to testify in the second trial. They do plan to call Jackson again, despite the jurors’ comments after the trial that the teenager’s testimony had been confusing and sometimes contradictory.

Barnett said he would call his own experts to testify that his client had used a technique called wedging, which officers are trained to use to control resisting suspects by pinning them against immovable objects. “If you go from the line officer to the person who teaches the teachers, they all said that this technique is something that they teach,” he said.

The outcome of the case probably will be at issue in the race for the top prosecutor position. Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley is up for reelection in March and faces opposition from five candidates: two prosecutors, one former prosecutor, an environmental attorney and a former Los Angeles city councilman.

Since taking office, Cooley has secured guilty pleas from such high-profile defendants as former Symbionese Liberation Army associate Sara Jane Olson and “Angel of Death” Efren Saldivar. But he has been criticized by those who say he has not been aggressive enough on environmental cases and hate crimes.

In the Morse case, the Los Angeles County Grand Jury indicted the three-year officer on one felony count of assault under the color of authority in July 2002. If he is convicted, he could face three years in state prison.

The confrontation occurred at the Thrifty gas station on Century Boulevard on July 6, 2002. That day, two sheriff’s deputies were questioning Jackson’s father, Coby Chavis Jr., about expired registration tags on his car when Jackson emerged from the station’s market. Police said that, after Jackson ignored orders, Inglewood police arrived to assist and a struggle ensued.

Soon afterward, an amateur cameraman captured Morse on videotape grabbing Jackson, who was handcuffed and on the ground, and slamming him down on the trunk of the patrol car. Morse then was seen punching the boy in the face in what the officer said later was a response to Jackson’s having grabbed his testicles.

The case took on racial overtones because Morse is white and Jackson is black. Only one of the 12 jurors in the first trial was black.

During the trial, Jackson testified for the prosecution, telling jurors that he didn’t remember having been thrown against the car or having been punched in the face. He told jurors that he had been frightened but hadn’t resisted officers during the confrontation. Jackson’s family said he has a hearing disorder that might have slowed his response to police commands.

Seven jurors voted for conviction and five for acquittal. The same jurors acquitted Morse’s partner, Bijan Darvish, of writing a false police report. One day after Superior Court Judge William Hollingsworth Jr. declared the mistrial, Cooley announced that he would retry the case.

City and community leaders hope that, regardless of the verdict in the retrial, Inglewood remains calm. Khalid Shah, executive director of the Stop the Violence, Increase the Peace Foundation, said hundreds of community members had worked with businesses, schools and churches to ensure that riots didn’t break out after the first trial.

“The blessing is that nothing happened,” Shah said. “All of us are going to be doing our part to make sure there is going to be peace. We’re keeping our fingers crossed.”

They also hope that jurors will be able to reach a verdict and that the case will finally come to an end.

“It’s something that is still standing out there without an ending,” said Michael Benbow, public affairs commissioner for the city of Inglewood. “I was surprised that they didn’t come to a verdict the first time.”

If jurors convict Morse, the people will be able to put the case behind them and move on, Benbow said, but if he is acquitted, there will be some lingering questions.

Prospective jurors filled out questionnaires in the case last week, answering questions about whether they know about the case or have seen the videotape.

Controversy arose on the first day of jury selection when dozens of potential jurors received a flier with block letters saying “Guilty as Sin” above a photograph of Morse from the videotape and “Stop Police Brutality in Los Angeles” below.

The judge excused any juror who had seen the flier. Barnett said such incidents make it more difficult to try the case on the facts.

Jackson’s aunt, Nancy Goins, said Jackson, now 18, and the rest of his family have tried to move on since the incident and just want the trial to be over.

“I’m hoping that justice will be served,” she said. “If it’s not, I can’t spend my life worrying about it. What goes around, comes around.”