A videotape played for a Prince George's County jury yesterday appeared to show a county police officer striking a handcuffed carjacking suspect with a metal baton.
In the video, Cpl. Brian K. Addis, who is on trial for second-degree assault, also appeared to knee the handcuffed suspect in the groin.
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The scenes, captured by a camera mounted in Addis's police cruiser, were played by prosecutors as the centerpiece of their case against Addis, 31. He is also charged with making a false entry on a police record. Both charges are misdemeanors.
Addis testified yesterday in Circuit Court that he struck the suspect, Vernon S. Bullock, because Bullock, although handcuffed, was shifting his shoulders into another officer. Addis said he and the other officer were attempting to move Bullock.
Addis testified that he kneed Bullock in the stomach, not the groin. He also said the suspect was reaching for his waistband, as if trying to grab a weapon.
"Just because someone's handcuffed doesn't mean the scene is safe," Addis testified.
The charges against Addis stem from his actions on the morning of Oct. 5, 2003.
Bullock, now 22, stole a minivan at gunpoint in Beltsville and led Addis and other officers on a chase. Addis testified that the chase reached speeds of more than 100 mph.
Bullock drove onto the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, heading toward the District, and crashed head-on into a guardrail as he exited at Route 197.
A year ago, Bullock, of the District, pleaded guilty to armed carjacking and a weapons violation. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Addis came under scrutiny when the Prince George's prosecutor and the county police detective who were preparing the carjacking case viewed the videotape Dec. 31, 2003. The prosecutor and the detective testified Monday that they both immediately went to supervisors after viewing it.
The videotape, played for the first time publicly in court yesterday, runs for about 15 minutes. The camera inside Addis's cruiser was activated when he turned his emergency lights on.
The first 12 to 13 minutes show the chase. After Bullock crashed the minivan into the guardrail, the videotape appears to show, he stumbled out of the van and fell to the ground. Addis quickly appeared on the tape, followed by three or four other officers.
The videotape then appears to show Addis kicking Bullock three times and hitting him three times with a metal baton as the other officers tried to handcuff Bullock. It was unclear where the blows were struck.
Addis testified that during this first encounter, he approached Bullock with his gun drawn. Addis testified that he would have been justified in using deadly force at that point; the officer said he heard Bullock claim he had a gun. A weapon was found inside the stolen minivan.
Sgt. Tiffany Yuen, who at the time was a canine officer, testified that she quickly handcuffed Bullock's right hand but needed 10 to 20 seconds to cuff his left hand. Yuen testified that she wasn't sure whether the difficulty stemmed from the fact that so many officers' hands were flailing or because Bullock was struggling.
Yuen testified that she didn't see Bullock resist.
The videotape appears to show Addis walk away after Bullock was handcuffed but return after two other officers searched the suspect for a weapon. Addis then appeared to knee Bullock. After Addis and another officer picked up Bullock to move him, the tape appears to show, Addis struck Bullock again with the baton.
The trial is expected to conclude today.
