A Connecticut cop was found not guilty Wednesday of excessive force even though there was video evidence showing him kicking a man’s head after the man had already been tased, stomped-on and subdued by other officers.
Bridgeport police officer Clive Higgins was facing up to ten years in prison for assaulting the suspect while under “color of law” but the jury found he acted within the law when he pulled up in his cruiser and gave a swift kick to the head to Orlando Lopez-Soto.
However, the city of Bridgeport didn’t want to risk a civil jury trial last year, preferring to settle with the suspect, Orlando Lopez-Soto, for $198,000.
But that money isn’t doing Lopez-Soto much good considering he is still serving a five-year prison sentence on weapon and drug charges from another case as well as failure to appear in court for this case.
In fact, he is required to reimbursement the state for his incarceration.
The incident took place in 2011, but the video did not surface until 2013 when it immediately went viral.
The two other cops, Elson Morales and Joseph Lawlor, still face up to a year in jail after pleading guilty last year to violating Lopez-Soto’s Constitutional rights.
