PAW PAW, Mich. — The trial for Mathew Mistretta, a former officer with the Hartford Police Department, started Thursday. In 2021, Mistretta was charged with multiple counts of assault and battery, along with misconduct in office.
The start of the trial comes almost three years after a video on social media showed Mistretta throwing a man to the ground during an arrest.
READ MORE: Former Hartford Police officer charged with assault, misconduct, speaks out
“[With] great power comes great responsibility. This case is about a sworn officer of the law, defendant officer Mistretta, abusing and exceeding the power, responsibility and trust to him by people in the state of Michigan,” said Alexandria Casperson, a state attorney, in her opening statement.
Judge Kathleen M. Brickley heard opening statements from Casperson and defense attorney Marc Curtis.
“He protected the community. He did his job. He did not abuse his position of power. He did not abuse his office. He acted like a reasonable officer detaining a suspect when he had gotten information that that individual was involved in a shooting,” Curtis said to the court. “As he approaches, he learns from another officer at a different area that one of the people in the car is suspected to be involved in a shooting. As he approaches the car, there's two suspects in the vehicle. That's all the information he has at that point in time.”
Lauro Espino, the man Mistretta is accused of using excessive force on during the arrest, took the stand.
Espino admitted that before Mistretta stopped him and pulled him out of the car, he was drunk, speeding and bleeding from his head.
During the trial, Espino told the court he was not resisting the arrest. He claims he was pushed against the hood of the patrol car before he was “tossed” to the ground.
He also goes on to say Mistretta’s knee was on his neck. “I kept telling him to get off my neck, that I couldn’t breathe,” he said.
While on the ground, he couldn’t see what was going on around him but did recall hearing Mistretta tell the passenger to get back in the car. Espino says neither he nor the person in his car had weapons at the time.
Later, Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Matthew Berry was questioned about his experience with traffic stops and what factors he considers before using force.
“Intoxication level— are they being physically aggressive with me, have they already been physically aggressive with me,” Berry’s list goes on. However, he did admit to the court that traffic stops can be dangerous and in certain situations, some officers choose to prioritize primary safety concerts over policies.
The trial will continue Tuesday when the prosecutors will continue calling their witnesses.
