AP News, July 11th, 2007
Four former and current police officers ignored police code and viciously beat a man while using racial slurs, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday during opening statements in the men's federal trial.
Fired officers Jon Bartlett, 35, Andrew Spengler, 28, and Daniel Masarik, 27, along with suspended officer Ryan Packard, 27, are accused of violating the civil rights of Frank Jude Jr. and another man during an October 2004 party at Spengler's home and assaulting them while acting as officers. Each would face up to 20 years in prison and $500,000 fines if convicted.
Most of the defense attorneys countered that the state's witnesses were unreliable or that the level of force was reasonable.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mel Johnson told jurors how Jude, who is biracial, and Lovell Harris, who is black, accompanied two white women to Spengler's home where off-duty officers were having a housewarming party.
A group of 10 to 20 mostly drunk off-duty officers accused Jude of taking Spengler's badge and when they couldn't find it they gave Jude "a beating you wouldn't give to your worst enemy," Johnson said.
He said witnesses saw the four men beat Jude to varying degrees. "You (racial slur) took the badge, we're the police, you're going to jail," Johnson quoted one man as saying to Jude.
They kicked his head, punched him, bent his fingers back, put a knife to his throat and jammed sticks in his ears as Jude begged for mercy, Johnson said. One officer, who has already agreed to plead guilty, slit Harris' face with a knife. Johnson said a badge was never found and none of the men had apparent injuries. Jude, now 28, is expected to testify next week.
Four other fired officers have pleaded guilty to other federal charges and three are set to testify. The fourth, Ryan Lemke, pleaded guilty Friday but it was unclear whether he would testify.
Spengler's attorney, Brian Kinstler, told the jury to consider how much the prosecution's witnesses had to drink, the murkiness of their memory or whether they were testifying to get a lighter sentence. Credible evidence will show Spengler's actions were reasonable, he said.
Bartlett's attorney, Bridget Boyle, said Jude, who could bench press 450 pounds, was aggressive and wouldn't show his hands hidden beneath his body. Bartlett then struck Jude four times in compliance with police training to get him to reveal his arms and restrain him.
She also said a prosecution witness who will claim she saw Bartlett was 20 feet away and didn't identify anyone until after she saw his photo in the newspaper.
Masarik's attorney, Jonathan Smith, said telephone records will prove Masarik, who was sober, was on his cell phone in a back bedroom during the beating talking with his now former wife. The prosecution's witnesses who will put him at the "chaotic" scene are mistaken because they just met him or never met him at all, Smith said.
Packard's attorney, Rodney Cubbie, said Packard had only been at the party a short time after working the night shift and was sober. He said his client helped detain Jude but did not punch or kick him.
Packard was looking for Harris, who had run off, under cars and between houses. The one person who placed Packard there didn't reveal until three months later that she drank a bottle of wine at the party, he said. She also contradicted witnesses, evidence and herself at the state trial, Cubbie said.
The trial is the second round in a case that has haunted Milwaukee. Three of the men were acquitted of most state charges by an all-white jury in April 2006, angering the community. Federal officials filed the civil rights charges six months later.
