Jury has Minneapolis cop excessive force, perjury case

The criminal trial of a Minneapolis police officer is now in the hands of a federal court jury.

Officer Michael Griffin is accused of using excessive force on several bar patrons and lying about it on police reports and under oath during court proceedings.

The jury deliberated his case Thursday afternoon for a few hours, and it plans to start again Friday.

In his closing arguments, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Schleicher called Griffin a "bully with a badge."

However, defense attorney Robert Richman said the real bullies in these incidents were the men who fought with Griffin.

The late night fights occurred outside downtown Minneapolis bars in 2010 and 2011. In each case, Griffin was off duty and in plain clothes. And each incident ended with at least one combatant taken to the hospital.

The trial, which began April 5, has included testimony from the men who claimed Griffin attacked them, experts on police use of force and witnesses, who at times struggled to recall events that occurred five and six years ago.

Both the prosecution and defense presented their own "use-of-force" experts on the witness stand. The experts based much of their testimony on what they call the continuum of force — a list of available options for police officers during confrontations.

Testifying for the defense, Joseph Dutton said officers have to use enough force to prevail in a confrontation.

"Officers have to win," he said. "If they don't win, they could die."

Schleicher asked Dutton if that applied to officers when they're off duty and acting as private citizens. At first he said no, but under further questioning answered yes.

Richman strongly challenged the allegations that Griffin had lied on his police reports. He said it was "the height of unfairness" to accuse Griffin of lying because witnesses — some of whom were intoxicated at the time of the incidents — couldn't remember details Griffin put in his police reports.

Richman originally planned to put Griffin on the stand to testify, but didn't in the end. Griffin wouldn't have much more to say than what was already in his police reports and court statements, Richman said.

The defense attorney was also critical of some of the men who sued Griffin for excessive force. He characterized two of the white men who confronted the Minneapolis officer outside The Loop bar on Nov. 5, 2011, as "white racists.

In their civil trial testimony, Richman said Jeremy Axel and Matthew Mitchell used racial stereotypes to describe Griffin, who is African American. He said they described him as looking like a "gangbanger."

Griffin is facing prison time if convicted. And he can no longer be a police officer in Minnesota if he gets convicted of a felony.

Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis President Bob Kroll says Griffin is still on the force and has been on administrative home assignment. The police union president also said internal affairs had already investigated the incidents in 2010 and 2011. Those probes resulted in a letter in Griffin's file for one incident and no discipline for the other.