PLG Finishes First Week of Police Brutality Trial Against City of Concord Police Officer

PLG Finishes First Week of Police Brutality Trial Against City of Concord Police Officer

On April 11, 2022, Piccuta Law Group, LLP started a jury trial against a police officer from the City of Concord. Charles Tony Piccuta is lead trial counsel. The case is entitled Smith v. Parsley, City of Concord, Et Al. The Case is pending before the honorable judge Weil in Contra Costa County Superior Court and designated case # MSC 20-01316.

Details About the Police Brutality Lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed in 2020 and advanced three claims all of which involved police brutality. Those claims included: battery by a peace officer, violations of the Thomas Bane Civil Rights Act and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The lawsuit sought damages for the physical and emotional injuries suffered by the client. The lawsuit also sought punitive damages, attorney fees and a statutory penalty of $25,000 for the alleged violation of the Client’s civil rights as set forth in California’s Bane Act.

The lawsuit arose out of a traffic stop that occurred in the summer of 2019 in Concord, California. The lawsuit claimed that Rex Smith was confronted by a police officer for allegedly driving too fast in a parking lot. After Smith stopped his vehicle and exited to go to a convenient store, an officer told him to get back inside his car. Smith asked why and then claims was exposed to excessive force.

Body worn camera shows that the police officer took Smith to the ground. Once on the ground, the officer can be seen kneeing Mr. Smith in the ribs multiple times before he is laid flat. Once Mr. Smith is flat on his stomach, he is then tased two times in dart mode.

The First Week of the Police Brutality Trial   

On the first two days of trial, the sides selected a jury of twelve individuals and two alternates. On the third day, the court gave preliminary jury instructions and opening statements were given. Opening statements were made by both Piccuta for his client and the defense attorney for the police officer and City of Concord.

The first witness called by the Piccuta Law Group was the police officer. The police officer testified over the span of two days. His testimony was then followed by the testimony of Plaintiff’s police procedures and practices expert witness. Plaintiff’s police procedures expert testified that the use of force by the officer did not comply with police standards and training and was unnecessary.

The testimony of Smith began in the late afternoon on Friday before the jury was released for the weekend. Smith began his testimony and discussed the night of the incident and the events leading up to the interaction with the officer. Smith will continue his testimony on Monday when the jury trial reconvenes.

The Second Week of the Police Brutality Trial

The second week of the police brutality trial will commence with the rest of Smith’s testimony. This will conclude Plaintiff’s case in chief. The defense will then have an opportunity to present their case.

It is anticipated that the defense will call their police practices expert, Robert Fonzi, to the stand. In addition, the defense may recall the defendant officer as well as supervising police officers from the City of Concord. The defense listed over twenty-five witnesses on their witness list. At this point, it is unknown which witnesses the defense will actually call to testify during the second week of trial.

It is expected that closing statements will be conducted by the middle of the week. The case should go to jury deliberations before the end of the week. Piccuta and his team hope that a jury verdict will be rendered in favor of their client without the need for a third week of trial.

The Last Police Brutality Trial Won By The Piccuta Law Group

This is the first police brutality jury trial that the Piccuta Law Group has conducted since COVID-19 began. Jury trials were not being conducted regularly during the height of COVID. This created a backlog where civil cases were secondary to criminal cases. As a result, the majority of jury trials being conducted during COVID were criminal matters.

The last police excessive force jury trial tried by Piccuta was in January 2020. That case was against City of Stockton police officers. It was one of the last trials conducted prior to the COVID lockdowns that began in or about February 2020.

In that case, Piccuta proved to a jury that two City of Stockton police officers were guilty of using excessive force against the client. The client was a teenager at the time and lost his two front teeth as a result of the incident. Piccuta proved the case to a jury who unanimously found in favor of his client. The jury awarded a total of $710,000 to the client.

Piccuta filed a motion for attorney fees after prevailing on the Bane Act claim in that case. The motion for attorney fees was resolved by settlement for the amount of $712,500. The total combined amount paid for the jury award and attorney fees was $1,412,500. The highest offer made by the police officers and City prior to trial was $100,000.

That case garnered national media attention. The case and result were the subject of a podcast on National Public Radio. The podcast questioned the protections provided to police officers. Specifically, the sealing of records that would show a police officer’s history of misconduct.

Hire an Experienced Police Brutality Attorney If You Were the Victim of Excessive Force

If you or a loved one was subjected to excessive force by a police officer, contact the Piccuta Law Group today. Our attorneys have experience handling civil rights cases involving police misconduct. Specifically, police excessive force and police brutality cases. Our attorneys have tried multiple police brutality cases to verdict and are not afraid to take on the police and the deep city pockets who defend them. If you or a loved one experienced police excessive force, contact our law firm today to discuss your case.

A consultation is free. It costs you nothing to discuss your case and to receive our legal advice. If we take your case, we will do so on a contingent fee basis. That means we only collect a fee if we recover for you. In most cases, we advance all costs associated with the case and only seek to recover those costs if we win. As a result, having our firm represent you is at no cost or risk to you.