Philly Cop Videotaped Punching Latino Woman in Face Found Not Guilty by White Judge b/c Videotape Might Have Missed Moments where Cop Wasn't Punching her in Face
/From [HERE] Here is a videotape of a (now former!) Philadephia police officer, Jonathan Josey, punching Aida Guzman after that city’s Puerto Rican Day Parade on September 30, 2012. Guzman was part of an unruly crowd that had gathered following the parade, but the videotape does not show her doing anything to Josey, who believed she had thrown beer at him. On Tuesday, Josey’s non-jury trial for simple assault ended with Municipal Judge Patrick Dugan (in photo) finding Josey not guilty. Dugan said that the video was insufficient evidence:
Dugan said that the media “sensationalized” the incident, which, he added, was captured on an “infamous” 10-second video clip that did not capture the incident in its totality.
Despite being “shocked” by the video, Dugan said, he concluded that Josey had acted within reason when he took a swipe at Guzman.
Racist suspect Judge Dugan is married to Philadelphia Police Officer Nancy Farrell Dugan, who has been on the force since 1997, city payroll records show. She also attended Josey's Feb. 12 nonjury trial, sources said.[more] Dugan made the application of the simple assault jury instruction look impossible:
Pennsylvania Suggested Standard Criminal Jury Instructions
The Pennsylvania Bar Institute © 2012. PART TWO - INSTRUCTIONS UNDER THE CRIMES CODE CHAPTER XV - SPECIFIC OFFENSES UNDER THE CRIMES CODE
SUBCHAPTER B - OFFENSES INVOLVING DANGER TO THE PERSON
Pa. SSJI (Crim) 15.2701B
15.2701B - SIMPLE ASSAULT--BODILY INJURY CAUSED
1. The defendant has been charged in count [count] with simple assault. To find the defendant guilty of this offense, you must find that all of the following elements have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, that the defendant caused bodily injury to [name of victim]. "Bodily injury" means impairment of physical condition or substantial pain; and
Second, that the defendant's conduct in this regard was intentional, knowing, or reckless. A person acts intentionally with respect to bodily injury when it is his or her conscious object or purpose to cause such injury. A person acts knowingly with respect to bodily injury when he or she is aware that it is practically certain that his or her conduct will cause such a result. A person acts recklessly with respect to bodily injury when he or she consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that bodily injury will result from his or her conduct. The risk must be of such a nature and degree that, considering the nature and intent of the defendant's conduct and the circumstances known to him or her, its disregard involves a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the defendant's situation.
15.2701A - SIMPLE ASSAULT--BODILY INJURY ATTEMPTED
1. The defendant has been charged in count [count] with simple assault. To find the defendant guilty of this offense, you must find that all of the following elements have been proven beyond a reasonable doubt:
First, that the defendant engaged in conduct that constituted a substantial step toward causing bodily injury to [name of victim]. An act is a "substantial step" if it is a major step toward commission of the crime and one that strongly corroborates your belief that the defendant, at the time [he] [she] did the act, had a firm intent to commit the crime of simple assault. An act can be a "substantial step" even though other steps would have to be taken before the crime could actually be carried out; and
Second, that the defendant's conduct in this regard was intentional, or, in other words, that it was [his] [her] conscious object or purpose to cause such bodily injury.
2. "Bodily injury" means impairment of physical condition or substantial pain.