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CNN Live At Daybreak

Inglewood Police Officer Preparing Defense

Aired July 12, 2002 - 06:02   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: While the anger continues to grow in Inglewood, the police officer in question is formulating a defense. His attorney claims the cuffed teenager grabbed him in a sensitive spot, and that's why he had to act.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez outlines his case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From the moment this tape was released, it unleashed a storm of public outrage.

DEMONSTRATORS: No justice, no peace!

GUTIERREZ: The mayor of Inglewood said there was no possible excuse for this behavior.

MAYOR ROOSEVELT DORN, INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) of the investigation. It is my opinion that he should be fired.

GUTIERREZ: But the events, caught on tape, say it all.

JOHN BARNETT, JEREMY MORSE'S ATTORNEY: The videos by themselves do not justify or allow for a conviction.

GUTIERREZ: John Barnett represents the officer in the eye of the storm, Jeremy Morse. Barnett says his client is innocent, that his side of the story has not been told.

BARNETT: There is no indication that he is any sort of a racist.

GUTIERREZ: Barnett says what you don't see on the tape is what Donovan is doing to the officer while handcuffed.

BARNETT: He grabbed my client's testicles just prior to him being hit in the face. That's a very simple, straightforward use of force, and nobody would disagree that an officer could punch somebody who had grabbed his testicles.

GUTIERREZ: Donovan Jackson and his father, Coby Chavis, say they did not provoke the attack. They allege excessive use of force.

CHIEF RONALD BANKS, INGLEWOOD POLICE: I was somewhat disappointed in viewing the tape. GUTIERREZ: Nearly a week after the incident, Inglewood police Chief Ronald Banks returned from vacation and spoke out for the first time.

BANKS: We in no way condone or encourage excessive or improper use of force by our officers, but the constitutional principles of due process for anyone under investigation should always be safeguarded.

GUTIERREZ: But now, other allegations of excessive force have surfaced against 24-year-old Jeremy Morse and the Inglewood Police Department, allegations that Barnett says are unfounded.

BARNETT: We expect that everybody that he has arrested will line up with their hands out at the controller's door saying, pay me money, because I was arrested by this officer. And those complaints are without basis, and we will prove that.

GUTIERREZ: Barnett says his client, who has not publicly spoken out, is having a difficult time dealing with all of this. He says overnight, Morse went from being an officer to a pariah in his own community.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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