Mark KaylorUPDATE: Judge Tom Greenholtz announced that jurors haven't reached a unanimous verdict after six hours of deliberation.
Greenholtz dismissed the jurors for the night and told them to return to court tomorrow morning at 8:30. Read the updated, most recent story, here.
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Jurors are now deciding whether a former Red Bank police officer used excessive force during a traffic stop in April 2014.
They began deliberations around 10:30 a.m. after listening to closing arguments in the Mark Kaylor trial this morning in Hamilton County Criminal Court.
For three days, they have listened to prosecutors square off against Kaylor's defense attorney, Lee Davis.
Prosecutors say Kaylor used excessive force when he rushed into a struggle with other Red Bank officers and punched Candido Medina-Resendiz seven times in the arm and face. Medina-Resendiz, 26, needed surgery afterwards to repair a fractured eye socket and continues to wear a titanium plate for support.
"When [Kaylor] was on top of that man with his hands behind his back, he wanted a trial by combat," prosecutor Kevin Brown said. "He punched him in the face seven times and broke the bone under his bone. Think about how much force that takes."
During his final approach to jurors, Brown urged them to watch the dashcam footage and decide for themselves whether the situation was de-escalating when Kaylor started landing blows.
"We've talked about how these situations are fluid," Brown said. "I'd submit to you that that situation was de-escalating, with his hands behind his back. And [Kaylor] escalated it, with seven blows to the face."
Davis asked jurors to remember the context of the events, arguing that prosecutors were applying 20/20 hindsight to three seconds of difficult decision making.
Kaylor pulled Medina-Resendiz's car over that night around 3 a.m. for driving drunk along Dayton Boulevard. During the stop, he conducted a field sobriety test on Medina-Resendiz's friend. The 26-year-old had asked him to drive because he was too drunk.
When Medina-Resendiz started resisting, other back-up officers applied more powerful uses of force, including direct stun gun shots and baton strikes, Davis said.
Not Kaylor, Davis pointed out, who only used his fists when he realized nothing else was working.
Medina-Resendiz, who needed a translator Tuesday, should have known what officers were doing, even if there was a communication barrier, Davis said. Medina-Resendiz had been arrested at least four times before and knew he was violating the terms of a former arrest by re-entering the United States illegally from Mexico, Davis said.
"The point is, he knows how to handle himself when there's an arrest," Davis said.
Kaylor faces charges of aggravated assault and official misconduct. Prosecutors had to dismiss the second count of Kaylor's indictment - reckless endangerment - earlier this week, Judge Tom Greenholtz said.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.