The Various Ongoing Racial Trials, such as the Liar La Mesa Cop's trial, Prove that Rights are Rented to You in a Free Range Prison and You Can be Put Into Greater Confinement or Executed At Any Time
NO RIGHT TO BE LEFT THE FUCK ALONE IN RACIST SYSTEM. From [HERE] Defense testimony resumed Wednesday in the trial of Matt Dages, a former La Mesa police officer who is accused of lying about the basis of his May 27, 2020, arrest of Amaurie Johnson, a young Black man who was waiting for friends outside an apartment complex near the Grossmont Transit Center.
Johnson's arrest was captured on video and circulated over social media, sparking particular condemnation in the wake of the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which occurred two days earlier.
Dages, who is white, is charged with a felony count of filing a false police report and could face up to three years behind bars if convicted. The former officer took the stand in his defense Tuesday and Wednesday.
Closing arguments wrapped Wednesday afternoon and the case went to the jury. Deliberations will begin Thursday.
The case focused on statements Dages made in his report after the incident at the transit center.
As previously reported by the Union-Tribune, Dages wrote in his report that Johnson had been illegally smoking, had not paid a trolley fare as required and clenched his fists during the encounter. But, according to city records, an outside investigation found that Johnson had not been smoking and that he was standing outside an area where trolley fare is required. Dages also had claimed Johnson slapped his hand away during the encounter, which was why Johnson was arrested on suspicion of assault on a police officer and delaying or obstructing an officer. The videos prove that Johnson did not slap police.
Deputy District Attorney Fiona Dunleavy alleged that due to "what was going on in the world, in our country" at the time, the police department was under a microscope, prompting Dages to falsify his report in order to justify the arrest.
He was released on a misdemeanor citation, but the police department later announced it would not be seeking charges against Johnson, who has filed a federal lawsuit against Dages and the city of La Mesa. [MORE]