WEBSTER, Texas – Jurors have found Webster police officer Colin Murphy not guilty of official oppression in the 2013 arrest of a Nassau Bay man.
Prosecutors used video shot by Murphy as evidence against him in court Thursday. Murphy and two other Webster officers were charged with misdemeanor official oppression in the arrest of a man who was threatening to shoot himself with a .357-caliber pistol.
Murphy was wearing his personal GoPro camera as he and his fellow officers subdued John Joiner, 53, outside his home on Sept. 27, 2013.
The video shown in court Thursday shows the officers approaching the man while yelling for him to put his hands up and Joiner yelling back for the officers to shoot him. As the three officers closed on Joiner, he threw away the pistol and stood next to a car with his hands on his head.
The video shows Murphy striking Joiner in the throat with the muzzle of an assault rifle, knocking him to the ground. Then Murphy and the two other policemen appear to beat him as he lay on the ground. Prosecutors say Murphy kicked Joiner and stomped on his neck, while Officer Peter Behler struck Joiner on the throat, and Officer Daniel Bassett shocked him with a stun gun as Murphy held Joiner's arms.
Webster police Lt. Raymond Graham testified that the force used by Murphy and the other officers was excessive, and that Murphy's description of the incident in his report did not match the video. Graham says the video shows that Joiner never tried to resist the officers.
Defense attorney Greg Cagle zeroed in on a portion of the video that shows Joiner with one hand free on the stun gun, suggesting it shows Joiner was trying to resist.
But Graham says the stun gun was being used to inflict pain, not to subdue Joiner, and that it appeared to him that Joiner was trying to push it away.
Testimony in the 339th State District Court resumed Friday. Murphy was facing up to a year in jail and could have possibly lost his peace officer certification.
The other two officers are still awaiting trial.