Trial The four officers were indicted for manslaughter, as well as tampering with or fabricating physical evidence. Acting director of the Dade County Public Safety Department, Bobby Jones, suspended the officers on December 27. He said that since 1973, the four had been cited in 47 citizen complaints and 13 internal affairs probes. In addition, two other officers, Herbert Evans, Jr. and Ubaldo Del Toro, were charged with being an accessory to the crime, as well as fabricating evidence. The six officers were fired less than a month later. Because of the volatile atmosphere in Miami, which presiding judge Lenore Carrero Nesbitt had termed a time bomb, the trial was shifted to Tampa. Jury selection began on March 31, 1980. The trial was heard by an all-male, all-white jury. The lead prosecutor of the case was Janet Reno, later the U.S. attorney general. The defense said that the police were under attack. Officer Charles Veverka, who received immunity in exchange for his testimony, disputed this. Veverka said that officers hit McDuffie 10-12 times with clubs and fists until he was motionless. They attempted to cover up the attack by using a police car to run over the motorcycle and claim that McDuffies injuries were the result of a fatal accident. Hanlon, who had also received immunity, testified that he had choked McDuffie to the ground with his nightstick before Marrero began striking the man. He said that Marrero struck McDuffie with a flashlight. Hanlon, the only defendant to take the stand, said that he was the officer who had driven over McDuffies motorcycle.[citation needed] The three men who gave sworn statements were Veverka, Hanlon and Meier.[citation needed] Hanlon was charged with felonies, while Veverka was charged with a civil rights violation, but was acquitted. On April 25, officer Mark Meier was given immunity. He testified that the high-speed chase had slowed to 25 miles per hour when McDuffie shouted, I give up. Meier said that between three and eight officers surrounded McDuffie, pulled off his helmet and proceeded to beat him with nightsticks. He said that the officer struck him at least twice. Because the murder weapon was not identified (because of inconsistent witness testimonies), the jury determined that there was sufficient reasonable doubt to acquit the defendant. On May 8, Del Toro was acquitted. Judge Nesbitt. said that the state had failed to prove its case. Nine days later, a jury acquitted the remaining officers on all 13 counts of the indictment after less than three hours of deliberation.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 05:54:15 +0000
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