Global Courant 2023-05-09 03:05:45
A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a former Philadelphia police officer who is videotaped lowering the face coverings of at least one protester before dousing a group with pepper spray as they knelt during a demonstration in the summer of 2020 on a highway in the city.
The judge declared the mistrial Monday after jurors again reported being unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of ex-SWAT officer Richard Paul Nicoletti. Jurors had also reported a deadlock on Friday, but were urged to keep trying to reach an agreement. One juror was dismissed Friday afternoon and two deputies were unavailable for medical reasons. But prosecutors and defense attorneys both agreed to move forward with an 11-person panel.
Prosecutors told reporters late Monday afternoon that they would seek a new trial. There was no immediate word on when such a process might take place.
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Nicoletti was charged with simple assault and reckless endangerment for his actions on June 1, 2020, after protesters drove onto Interstate 676 during the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. A video circulated on social media showing Nicoletti in riot gear approaching three protesters kneeling on the highway and knocking down the mask or goggles of at least one protester before spraying them with pepper spray. A few weeks later he was fired.
A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a former SWAT officer who pepper sprayed a group of George Floyd protesters kneeling on a Philadelphia highway in 2020.
After the use of tear gas by city and state police received national attention, Mayor Jim Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw apologized, calling the use of force that day unjustifiable. In March, the city agreed to pay $9.25 million to hundreds of plaintiffs who sued for police use of force during several days of protests.
Assistant District Attorney Brian Collins told jurors during his opening statement that Nicoletti’s actions were unnecessary, harmful and beyond the scope of his duties as a police officer, adding that his badge was “a responsibility, not a license,” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
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Nicoletti’s lawyers have argued that he did not break any law and was acting under orders from his superiors in the police force. Lawyer Fortunato Perri Jr. said Nicoletti was ordered to clear the highway and had permission to use pepper spray to do so – and “he did that, nothing more.”
A state police officer testified Wednesday that SWAT officers, including Nicoletti, protected him from an angry mob, WTXF-TV reported.
Several people who were sprayed or witnessed the events testified. One person sprayed in the eyes choked when she remembered what had happened. Another protester said that after being sprayed with pepper spray, she “lost all sense of herself, crying and screaming for help”.
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A municipal court judge dismissed all charges against Nicoletti in 2021, saying prosecutors had failed to demonstrate that his actions were criminal. A Common Pleas court judge later reversed that decision and reinstated the charges.
