Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan ruled on Tuesday that JonathanJosey, an ex-cop let go from the Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniapolice department last year, is not guilty of assault. Josey, a19-year veteran of the force, was fired over the incident, whichwas video recorded on a camera phone and quickly spread virally onthe Internet.
Judge Dugan says he was “troubled” by the footage, butrefused to let the clip be introduced into the court as evidencebecause it failed to accurately depict a chaotic and volatilescene.
“This is not a social-media contest; this is not a trial byvideo,” he said in the courtroom, according to The PhiladelphiaDaily News. “This was a violent, fast-paced, real-lifesituation.”
In the video clip, Josey is seen approaching 39-year-old AidaGuzman during Philly’s annual Puerto Rican Day parade and sluggingher with a right hook to the face. Josey said he did notintentionally strike the woman, who was left bloodied in theincident, and was simply trying to knock a beer bottle from herhand. The video, said Judge Dugan, “didn’t tell the wholestory.”
"We were confident all along that once we had the opportunityto present the facts and circumstances of the incident in acourtroom, as opposed to the court of social media, that JonathanJosey would be vindicated," defense lawyer Fortunato Perri Jr.tells a local NBC affiliate.
Attorneys for the plaintiff disagree, though, and say they mayfile civil charges against the officer.
“It’s obvious from looking at the video that this was anintentional act,” Guzman's attorney Enrique Latoison tells CBSPhilly. “The officer took three steps towards my client and thenslugged her in the face.”
Latoison tells reporters that he plans to speak with US JusticeDepartment officials in hopes having federal civil-rights chargeslobbed against the defendant. Of concern, the attorney said, is howwilling the court was to dismiss video footage of the incident.
"Understand, if this can take place on camera, ask yourself,what could take place off of camera?" Latoison said. He alsotook issue with Josey’s defense, in which the officer described theentire altercation as unintentional. After striking Guzman, though,the officer reportedly put his elbow forcibly in her back andcuffed her so tightly that her wrists were bruised as a result.
“If you… accidentally hit someone and you were repentant anddropped to your knees, you are immediately going to act in a way toshow that you’re sorry, to show that you’re remorseful, to showthat it’s an accident,” Latoison adds to CBS.
Charges against Guzman were dropped after the assault and themayor of Philadelphia later issued a public apology. Now that theofficer is off the hook, though, Josey says he wishes to rejoin thepolice department that he served on for nearly two decades.
"Being a cop in this city is something I've wanted to dosince I was 5 years old," Josey told reporters. "I hadnothing else that I wanted to do. So, getting back to doing what Ido best . . . is what I'm looking forward to."
“I'm sure Jon Josey is looking forward to getting back towork and doing what he does best, which is to protect and serve thepeople of Philadelphia," his attorney added.
In the wake of the news, Latoison tells NBC news that his client“feels like she got beat on again,”
"What took place today is an injustice to Miss Guzman, it wasan injustice to the Puerto Rican and Spanish community," hetold WPCI News. "The Spanish community was portrayed as beingscary, lawless, people that were creating a mob situation."
District Attorney Seth Williams has issued a statement sayingthat he respects the judge’s ruling but does not agree with it.Josey had previously landed in hot water after he shot and killed aman attempting to rob a convenience store while off duty in 2010.He was exonerated in that case.
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