Morse Acted Properly, 2 Testify

Former Inglewood Police Officer Jeremy Morse used appropriate force against a resisting teenager last year in an encounter that was videotaped and broadcast nationwide, two experts testified Friday during Morse’s retrial.

“The suspect was combative and refused to comply,” said David Ishibashi, a district attorney’s investigator who formerly trained Inglewood police officers.

Ishibashi and the current Inglewood police trainer, George Sanford, both said Morse was using an approved technique called “pinning” or “wedging,” which gets control of a struggling suspect by placing him against an immobile object.

A jury deadlocked in Morse’s first trial last July, splitting 7 to 5 for conviction. Morse could face three years in prison if convicted.

The two experts were called by Morse’s defense attorney, John Barnett, after prosecutors’ use-of-force expert testified that the former officer’s actions were “outrageous” and the force he used excessive.

The defense experts acknowledged that Morse’s use of force would have been unnecessary if 16-year-old Donovan Jackson had been unconscious. They also told jurors that Morse’s actions could have caused serious injury, and they said Morse had a duty to check Jackson’s medical condition if he believed the teen was injured or unconscious.

An amateur cameraman recorded Morse lifting a handcuffed Jackson and throwing him onto a patrol car after a scuffle between the teen and officers on July 6, 2002. The Los Angeles County Grand Jury indicted Morse on one felony charge of assault under the color of authority.

Prosecutors allege that Morse broke the law by using unnecessary and excessive force against Jackson, who was subdued and motionless on the ground. Jackson testified that he wasn’t awake and doesn’t remember being slammed against the patrol car. Morse’s defense attorney maintains that Morse acted appropriately and did what he was taught to do when faced with a resisting suspect.

Sanford, who has trained Inglewood police officers for the last 14 years and helped draft the department’s use-of-force policy, testified that Morse’s actions were reasonable and fell within approved policy. Sanford said Jackson continued to resist even after he was wrestled to the ground. He refused to stand up as ordered and made himself dead weight in the officer’s hands, according to the defense.

Both witnesses also testified that the videotape exaggerated the impact of Jackson on the trunk of the police car because it did not show the flexibility of the metal.

The prosecution’s use-of-force expert, Joe Callanan, also completed his testimony Friday. Callanan told jurors that Morse’s conduct was inappropriate but said that an evaluation of the confrontation should not be based on the videotape alone. He cautioned that officers would have a completely different perspective than the cameraman.

Deputy Dist. Attys. Max Huntsman and Michael Pettersen rested their case Friday, and jurors are expected to begin deliberating in the retrial early next week.