Trial Begins For PA State Trooper Accused Of Stomping Handcuffed Man
By Tony Hanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Opening statements got underway Tuesday in the case of a Pennsylvania state trooper charged with assaulting a handcuffed man inside the alleged victim's Chester County home.
The prosecution has told a federal jury that the suspect, Zachary Bare, was mis-identified following a drug raid nearby in his Exton neighborhood, and was kicked in the teeth by 43-year-old Pennsylvania state trooper Kelly Cruz in August of 2009. But the defense has argued it was a reasonable use of force.
Prosecutor Maureen McCartney told the jury that Bare was handcuffed and face down on the kitchen floor of the home he shared with his disabled mother, when Cruz kicked him in the head, driving his face into the floor.
The prosecutor has told the jury that Bare didn't deserve to have his teeth kicked in and that he hadn't done anything wrong.
But defense attorney Christian Hoey has told the jury it was a reasonable use of force, that Cruz, who has pleaded not guilty, will take the witness stand and tell the jury what happened.
Hoey told the jury Bare was trying to get up, and Cruz drove his foot into Bare's shoulder blade, and the injuries resulted from that act. But there was no intent to injure.
