Juana Villegas Hearing in Berry Hill: Better Late Than Never
I realize this is a little late, but I just got around to watching this report from WKRN on last Friday's hearing in the Juana Villegas case.
I was at the hearing and the best part by far was when Villegas’ attorney Elliot Ozment essentially pantsed the arresting officer—Berry Hill Police Sergeant Tim Coleman—in front of a packed courtroom and TV cameras. Coleman testified that he pulled Villegas over at one address, but the arrest citation stated a different location. Ozment honed in on this, thrashing the cop like pitbull on a T-bone.
“Were you lying when you filled out this form?” Ozment practically yelled. “Or are you lying now in this courtroom?”
As a result of the discrepancy, the reckless driving charge was dropped, though Villegas was found guilty of driving without insurance, a $10 fine.
Back to the WKRN story (click video camera icon on right.) Amy Napier Viteri—who I think is one of the best immigration reporters in town—also got the chance to stump a Berry Hill official, this time Police Chief Robert Bennett.
In most cases, someone charged with a misdemeanor–such as driving without insurance—is not handcuffed and hauled off to jail. If they are, the cops have to give a reason for doing so by checking one of eight boxes at the bottom of the arrest sheet. The options are things like arrestee “requires medical care,” “reasonable likelihood that offenses will continue” or “reasonable likelihood that the person will fail to appear in court.” The box next to “Prosecution will be jeopardized” was checked for Villegas.
It seems that nobody said anything to Chief Bennett about what box was checked. He tells Viteri that his officer cuffed a woman who was nine-month pregnant because the officer thought she wouldn’t appear in court. When the reporter then asks him why his officer didn’t check that box instead of “Prosecution will be jeopardized,” the chief is stumped, possibly because he didn’t read the arrest report that carefully.
The look on his face when Viteri asks that question, and his nonsensical answer—around 1:45 on the clip—have set my weekend off to a great start.
Note: Ozment and Bennett's names are switched around in the video. The first guy, identified as Ozment, is Bennett.
Comments
Double Ditto P.J.! Reading your Blog and seeing the clip made my return from vacation easier as it did your weekend!
Tom
Posted 08/24/2008 at 01:44:03 PM