Mark Kaylor
Candido Medina-ResendizUPDATE: A judge said jurors will hear closing arguments tomorrow morning in the Mark Kaylor trial.
After returning from lunch, jurors watched Kaylor take the stand and defend himself.
Kaylor, 40, said he was securing the driver in a nearby vehicle when he noticed back-up officers struggling with Medina-Resendiz, 26, on April 13, 2014.
Kaylor said he ran over, got on top of him, and struck Medina-Resendiz seven times in the arm and face during a struggle to get him into handcuffs. Kaylor said the 26-year-old also tried to bite him in the right tricep.
Prosecutors, who have argued all week that Kaylor could have used lighter force, challenged the officer on his behavior.
"That video doesn't show him trying to bite you, does it?" prosecutor Kevin Brown asked. "You never said to the other officers, 'He's trying to bite me.'"
Kaylor replied that dashcam footage didn't show his exact perception of the crime and that he had to act as forthrightly as he could in a quickly escalating moment.
Because nothing else had worked so far, including baton strikes and direct stun gun shots, Kaylor said he started to hit Medina-Resendiz.
"After a third hit, you didn't assess the situation," Brown said.
"He was still resisting," Kaylor said.
"After a fourth hit, you didn't assess the situation," Brown said.
"He was still resisting," Kaylor said.
"After the fifth, sixth and seventh hit, you didn't assess the situation," Brown said.
Kaylor replied that after the seventh strike, officers managed to get handcuffs on Medina-Resendiz and put him into custody.
Kaylor's defense also included testimony from Skip Vaughn, a former Chattanooga Police Department officer of 36 years, who said he reviewed the investigative file in this case. His expert opinion?
Kaylor acted appropriately "under the totality of the circumstances," Vaughn said.
After Kaylor's defense, Judge Tom Greenholtz told jurors to return tomorrow for charge instructions and closing arguments.
After that, jurors will begin deliberating.
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State prosecutors have rested their case against Mark Kaylor, the former Red Bank police officer accused of aggravated assault during a traffic stop in 2014.
Once jurors return from lunch, Kaylor's defense can put on whatever proof they want. His attorney, Lee Davis, said Kaylor will testify in addition to one other witness.
During the second day of trial, jurors watched lawyers in Hamilton County Criminal Court largely debate whether Kaylor's force was appropriate on April 13, 2014, when he pulled Candido Medina-Resendiz's friend over around 3 a.m. for driving drunk on Dayton Boulevard.
Through a combination of officers and eyewitnesses, prosecutors have argued that Kaylor landed several blows to Medina-Resendiz's face and shoulders when he could have relied on less violent methods to get him into custody. Back-up officers also used a baton and stun gun on Medina-Resendiz, who needed surgery to repair a broken eye socket from the encounter.
Prosecutor Kevin Brown called Jerry Rogers, a detective with the Bradley County Sheriff's Office and a longtime instructor with the Cleveland State Police Training Academy.
"We teach...to avoid head strikes," Rogers said, "that head strikes should be reserved when the officer is defending themselves, when the officer feels that he or she is in danger."
After walking through the dashcam footage of the encounter, Brown posed a question: "Did this officer have other options than closed fist strikes to the face?"
"Yes," Rogers said.
Davis, meanwhile, has insinuated that Medina-Resendiz, who needed a translator on the stand Tuesday, knew his arrest would lead officers to his immigration violations.
Medina-Resendiz plead guilty to domestic violence in June 2013, spent 20 days in custody, and was ordered to leave the country - unless he wanted to spend more time in jail, Davis said.
Davis stressed today that Kaylor only used head strikes because nothing else was working on Medina-Resendiz, who had disobeyed verbal commands to stop resisting.
Officers didn't abuse their power and couldn't just leave, Davis said. They had to take Medina-Resendiz into custody and stopped using any force the moment they did.
After he dismissed jurors, Judge Tom Greenholtz denied the defense's motion to dismiss one of Kaylor's two remaining charges - official misconduct.
On Tuesday, Greenholtz noted, the state had to dismiss his reckless endangerment charge.
Kaylor faces aggravated assault and official misconduct.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.