Lawyers for the fourth and final Houston police officer charged in the 2010 videotaped beating of teenage burglar Chad Holley told jurors Monday in opening statements that their client is a hero whose actions were textbook procedures.
“In our eyes, he’s a hero, and he was brave on this day,” attorney Carson Joachim said about former HPD officer Drew Ryser. “These officers have to stay one level of force above the level they are dealing with – that’s how lives are saved.”
Ryser is on trial for official oppression stemming from a beating caught on surveillance video March 23, 2010.
In the video, Holley, then 15, can be seen fleeing officers then falling to the ground as he tries to hurdle the fender of a squad car that cut him off next to a fence.
Special prosecutor Tommy Lafon told jurors Holley can clearly be seen flipping on to his stomach and putting his hands on his head before half a dozen officers reach him and begin punching, kneeing and kicking him.
“You’ll see kicks, hits, punches and them rubbing his face in the ground,” Lafon said in opening statements. “When did we go from taking this kid into custody to wailing on him?”
If convicted of the class A misdemeanor, the officer – who lost his job for his role in the beating – faces a sentence ranging from probation to a year in jail.
Holley was later convicted of burglary in juvenile court. Last year, he was caught committing another burglary and has since pleaded guilty and was sentenced to seven years probation.
Lafon told jurors they would hear testimony from HPD Police Chief Charles McClelland who disciplined a dozen officers in connection with the beating.
Four officers, including Ryser, were indicted on misdemeanor charges.
Former officer Andrew Blomberg was found not guilty after a trial last year.
Raad Hassan and Phil Bryan pleaded “no contest” in April and were sentenced to two years probation.
Ryser is being prosecuted by criminal defense lawyers LaFon and Jon Munier who were appointed as special prosecutors after Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson recused his office because his wife, a criminal defense attorney and former judge, was involved in the case before Anderson took office.
The trial, in state District Judge Ruben Guerrero’s court, is expected to last a week.