5 years ago
Prince George's County prosecutors on Tuesday showed jurors a videotape that allegedly shows a county police officer kicking and striking a handcuffed suspect after a police chase. The tape, shown on the second day of Cpl. Bryan K. Addis's trial for second-degree assault and making a false entry on a public record, is central to the prosecution's claim that the officer used excessive force while arresting the carjacking suspect Oct. 5, 2003. However, Addis's attorneys argue that the officer's use of force to subdue Vernon Bullock after a high speed chase was justified because he didn't not know whether Bullock was armed when he crashed a stolen van after exiting the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Greenbelt. The case comes a year after the county signed an agreement with the Justice Department after a lengthy federal probe of alleged abuse and excessive force by county officers.
Prince George's agreed to implement several measures to help reduce misconduct, including the installation of mounted cameras inside police cruisers that record officers actions when they leave their cars. The videotape introduced in Addis's trial and played Tuesday was from the dashboard camera that recorded his pursuit of Bullock and the eventual arrest. Bullock, now 22, used a gun he found in the woods to steal the van from a man washing it in his driveway. He then led police on a 12 minute chase through Greenbelt and the surrounding area, weaving through traffic at high speeds. As Bullock exited the Parkway at Route 197, he lost control, skidded across an intersection and crashed into a guard rail. The tape shows a dazed Bullock stumble out of the van onto the ground. Addis and other officers involved in the chase soon swarm around him. Addis appears to kick Bullock as he lay on the ground and swing his baton at him several times. It is not clear whether the kicks or baton blows landed.
Addis then walks away for a short while, during which time Bullock is handcuffed and propped up on a curb. Addis then returns, and appears to strike Bullock several times with his knee and again with the baton. Bullock pleaded guilty last year to carjacking and weapons charges, and is now serving a seven year prison sentence. He testified Tuesday that Addis struck him several times but that he passed out soon afterward.
Another officer who took part in the arrest, Sgt. Tiffany Yuen, handcuffed Bullock as he lay on the ground. She said she did not see Addis hit Bullock, but testified the suspect was not fighting back. "I don't remember any resistance," she said.
Addis' attorney, Michael Belsky, said Addis did not know whether Bullock had a gun on him and that officers are trained that someone in handcuffs can still reach a weapon tucked in a waistband. A handgun was later found in the stolen van.
Belsky also noted that while being interviewed by a county detective after his arrest, Bullock said he had not been mistreated by officers.
Click on video to see Gary Reals' 5pm report.
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Written by The Associated Press
