After three police officers were acquitted yesterday on charges that they participated in the sodomy of a Brooklyn man during his arrest in 2008, jury forewoman Jamie Dove (a photographer) explained the verdict: "It was just reasonable doubt. Things weren't consistent. Stories were changing from the grand jury testimony to what he said he saw... He used different words. He went from 'rammed' to 'side to side.' So he wasn't sure about what was done to him." And another juror, Stevan L. Miller, told the Times the prosecution's case had "so many holes" that "the defense didn’t have to do anything."
Jurors also wondered why several key pieces of evidence—Michael Mineo's boxers, pants and surveillance video of him shortly after the attack—were introduced by the defense, not the prosecution. "The fact that the defense did it was a red flag," Dove told the Post. Mineo and another witness had testified that he had blood on his hand after the arrest, but after seeing Mineo put his hands in his pockets on the video, they requested the pants, and found no blood. Prosecutors also failed to counter testimony from a forensics expert who said that the hole in Mineo's boxers could not have been caused by the retractable baton.
Mineo was not in the courtroom when the verdict was read, but the Post reports that he "muttered, 'Faggot,' as the just-acquitted officers walked by him." At a press conference with Al Sharpton, Mineo told reporters, "It’s not over. I kind of had a feeling it would turn out this way. If you want to commit a murder, join the NYPD." He also said he feared for his safety, asking, "Who's going to police the police?" His lawyer said will ask the U.S. Marshals Service to protect Mineo, and will request an investigation at the federal level. Mineo's $440 million lawsuit against the city will proceed as planned. Sharpton criticized the Brooklyn DA, remarking, "It would seem that the prosecution allowed the victim to go on trial."
Outside the courtroom, Officer Richard Kern, who had faced as many as 25 years in prison if convicted of aggravated sexual abuse, told the press, "I'm glad the system works. I knew coming in this I was innocent. I was going to stand up for my rights and prove my innocence. I had faith in this Brooklyn jury... and I hope to get back on the street and do what I love to do: protect the people of Brooklyn." One juror was removed after telling others that Kern was previously found guilty of police brutality. In fact, Kern was cleared in two cases of excessive force, but one of those cases, in 2007, led to two lawsuits the city settled for $50,000, the Times reports.
