The federal trial against four Fresno police officers is coming to a close. The officers are charged with using excessive force against a domestic violence suspect, and lying about it.
The jury heard closing arguments Thursday. The prosecution said it's clear the officers acted unlawfully and intended to interfere with the investigation. The defense says there's not evidence to prove it.
The fate of four former and current Fresno police officers, accused of abusing their power, will soon be decided. After five weeks of powerful and emotional testimony, the trial wrapped up with closing arguments.
Chris Coleman's defense attorney, Paul Goyette says, "I thought it went good. I'm happy with it."
Former Fresno Police sergeant Christopher Coleman is facing the most charges in this case. He's accused of using excessive force against Rolando Celdon back in 2005, and lying about his actions in police reports.
Prosecutors say he shot at Celdon with a bean bag shot gun, and tried to hit him with a car. The defense told the jury Coleman used his split second judgement and said that's something all officers are trained to do. They also fired back at the prosecution for minimizing the crime Celdon committed that night.
"It was a serious domestic violence call. Mr. Celdon, for the second time that night, had broken into his girlfriend's apartment and was beating her," says Goyette.
Paul Van Dalen is also charged with excessive force. Michael Manfredi and Sean Plymale are accused of concealing the alleged assault and writing false police reports. Plymale's attorney says he believes there's not enough evidence for a conviction.
Marshall Hodgkins says, "I'm confident the jury will find him not guilty."
The prosecution told the jury evidence clearly establishes guilt, pointing to prior testimony from three other officers who arrived at the scene later that night. They testified against the defendants.
Goyette says, "I think they're disingenuous because they assume and they made a lot of conclusions based on their assumptions and they didn't have all the information, clearly. The government can't do anything about that."
The case will likely be turned over to the jury for deliberation by Friday afternoon.
If convicted, the officers could face up to 20 years in prison.
TXT 24
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