ORLANDO, Fla. — A civil trial started Monday afternoon against an Orlando police officer who pushed a woman down a flight of stairs.
RAW INTERVIEW: Victim Talks To WFTV About Lawsuit INCIDENT SURVEILLANCE: Watch Video | See Images
Officer Fernando Trinidad is still on the Orlando Police Department force; he now works at Orlando International Airport.
Monday, the jurors watched a DVD of the incident, which brought Trinidad only an 8-hour suspension.
The federal jury watched the video (watch it | images), which shows Officer Trinidad pushing Jessica Asprilla down the stairs at what was then Club Paris in downtown Orlando. Trinidad claimed Asprilla had spat on him twice, turned aggressively toward him, and then pulled away from him, which caused her to fall down the steps.
But the video disputes his whole story and it also shows him walking away from Asprilla as she lay on the floor with a fractured ankle.
"Some people feel you shouldn't be a police officer any longer because of pushing her down those steps," WFTV reporter Kathi Belich said to Trinidad.
"Once again, on the advisement of my attorney, I'm not making any comments," he replied.
Asprilla was the first witness in her civil rights lawsuit against Trinidad and the Orlando Police Department. She says the video, which eventually proved she was innocent of battering the officer, was withheld by the Orlando Police Department until months after her arrest.
"It's very embarrassing and unfortunate that I have to disclose it every time I have to apply for a job. So this will always haunt me," Asprilla told WFTV.
Asprilla testified Monday that Trinidad was aggressive with her, blew his whistle in her ear and then pushed her down the steps as he was getting her to leave the bar at closing time. She lost her job and had mounting medical and legal bills all because of what he did, and the lies the Orlando Police Department says he told afterward, and she'll always have a criminal record.
"It's just behavior unbecoming of an officer, as well as something that the city could have prevented, to put an innocent person in jail to cover up the aggression of a police officer," Asprilla said Monday.
Asprilla said she's appalled he's still an Orlando officer.
"He has proven to be a liar. He has proven to be aggressive," she said.
The Orlando Police Department's lawyer pinned it all on Trinidad. He says it punished Trinidad for what he did wrong and that the police department is not liable.
Asprilla says she is now afraid of police and afraid of retaliation because of this lawsuit. During WFTV's interview with her, someone drove by and yelled "look behind you."
"As you can see, it's also a very scary time for me," she said.
If the jury finds in Asprilla's favor, she cannot get more than $100,000 from the police department, but is not limited in what she can get from Trinidad.
Previous Stories: July 15, 2009: Woman Pushed Down Stairs At Club Can Sue City July 10, 2008: Officer Suspended For Trying To Cover Up Off-Duty Work During Pushing Incident July 2, 2008: Officer Relieved of Duty Over Allegations Of Pushing A Woman May 6, 2008: Officer Who Pushed Woman Could Lose Law Enforcement Certification April 23, 2008: Woman Shoved Down Staircase By Officer Sues OPD April 23, 2008: Officer Accused Of Pushing Woman Now Facing New Allegations April 7, 2008: Chief Says Officer's Suspension For Pushing Woman Not Severe Enough April 2, 2008: Woman Pushed Down Stairs By Officer Talks To Channel 9 April 2, 2008: Woman Pushed Down Stairs By Officer Wants Him Criminally Charged April 1, 2008: Officer Suspended For Pushing Woman Down Stairs At Nightclub
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