EUCLID, Ohio (WJW) — A visiting judge issued a stark warning Tuesday to attorneys for both sides in the criminal trial of Euclid Police Officer Michael Amiott.
“Don’t push me,” guest judge Guy Reece II said.
He also told Atty. Kim Corral, who represents Amiott, not to talk about him.
“Judge if you want to despise me for trying to represent my client, that would be fine,” Corral said.
The tense moments came shortly after Corral tried to cross-examine a former Euclid police captain in front of the jury about a 2017 training session that Euclid officers attended.
Corral said the training was presented by Euclid’s legal director and said an officer was legally able to stop a vehicle for a traffic stop if the police executed the license plate and he returned that the registered owner had a suspended license. The judge did not allow the testimony to be heard by jurors.
Amiott’s defense team argues that the officer stopped the vehicle Richard Hubbard III was driving because the plate showed the car’s owner had a suspended license.
Hubbard, however, testified Monday that he felt stopped because of his running.
“They targeted me,” Hubbard told jurors. “They profiled me.”
Amiott is accused of kicking and punching Hubbard after arresting him for a traffic violation. Amiott, who pleaded not guilty, faces charges of assault and civil rights violations.
The trial began Friday with jury selection. The prosecutor closed his case on Tuesday. The defense will continue to call witnesses on Wednesday.
