Lawyers argue over body camera footage at officer’s trial

Baltimore Police Officer Kevin Battipaglia was red-faced and out of control when he chased and clubbed a 21-year-old man in Northeast Baltimore on Christmas Eve, splitting the man’s lip and knocking out his teeth, a city prosecutor said in court Tuesday.

The officer’s defense attorney, Michael Belsky, described things differently: the officer chasing a fleeing suspect, who quickly switched directions, causing the two to collide in a matter of seconds and the tip of Battipaglia’s baton to strike Darrian Carr once Battipaglia by accident.

“Nobody condones police brutality or excessive use of force,” Belsky said. “This is not that case.”

Battipaglia is charged with first-degree assault in the incident, which happened about 1:30 p.m. near the intersection of Belair Road and Brendan Avenue. Opening arguments in the trial began Tuesday in a

downtown Baltimore courtroom before Circuit Judge Dana M. Middleton.

Central to the trial is the 36-year-old officer’s body camera footage, which both the prosecutor and defense attorney described as bolstering their respective cases.

Baltimore prosecutor Alexander Rodriguez showed frame-by-frame shots of the officer’s body camera footage, depicting the officer chasing Carr across Belair Road and into a parking lot, where Carr changed direction to avoid a car and the two collided.

He described Carr’s injuries as an “intentional, willful and deliberate” result of the actions of “an out-of-control Officer Battipaglia.”

“You’ll see fear in Darrian Carr’s eyes as he sees it coming,” the prosecutor said. “You don’t need an expert to show you what Officer Battipaglia’s intent was.”

In his opening statement, Belsky argued that the collision lasted only 1.5 to two seconds, after both men had been running full speed.

“I agree with the state,” Belsky said. “The video tells the tale.”

He played the footage, which showed a quick collision with the baton hitting Carr out of the camera frame.

“One, two — that’s the case right there,” he said as the video rolled.

The officer immediately called a medic and another officer found him kneeling next to Carr, Belsky said.

The first witness, Officer Rhys Dacuycuy, walked the court through his body camera footage from the day. He said he and Battipaglia had responded in separate patrol cars to a call from a store owner complaining about a money dispute.

Dacuycuy, who arrived first, testified that he ordered the roughly six people gathered outside the corner store to clear the corner, and that he saw Battipaglia chase a few of them across the busy intersection.

Dacuycuy stayed at the corner to speak to one of the other people, he said, then ran across the intersection when he heard yelling and found Battipaglia kneeling by Carr on the ground.

Tyquan Spriggs, 23, a friend of Carr’s who was with him on the corner that day, testified that he had been walking away, obeying Dacuycuy’s order, when he saw Battipaglia hop out of his patrol car, baton in hand.

“He looked like he was ready to hit me,” said Spriggs, describing Battipaglia as “angry, aggressive.”