
Mar 20, 2018
The case against Justin Roberts, a former Jackson police officer accused of punching a handcuffed man is dismissed for the second time.
Circuit Court Judge Tomie Green dismissed the case Tuesday morning.
Judge Green said she didn’t feel her courtroom was the appropriate venue for the hearing seeing that Roberts is no longer an officer and because the incident happened more than a year ago.
In February of last year, Roberts was fired when a video surfaced seemingly showing him punching and hitting LaDarius Brown during an arrest at a hair salon.
Attorneys representing Brown have pursued charges of simple assault and are asking for Roberts to be arrested.
The case has already been dismissed in justice court. It was brought before the circuit court Tuesday, however, the circuit court handles felonies and not misdemeanors.
Judge Green says the circuit court is not the appropriate place to hear the case because Roberts is no longer an officer, and because she was not presented with the right documentation.
“I don’t have anything before me that would indicate or that would allow me to allow probable cause,” Judge Green said.
She went on to say officers are arrested all the time without a probable cause hearing, but to ask for that a year later doesn’t make sense.
Francis Springer, the attorney representing Roberts says he feels the judge handled the case fairly.
The attorney for Brown says they will continue pursuing changes and will move forward with the case in the justice court.
Source: http://www.wjtv.com/news/metro/judge-dismisses-case-against-former-officer/1063004531