Alfonzo Dennard Trial

[IllegalContact]

At first, when Kopsa tried to handcuff Dennard, Dennard used one hand to push him away. Then, when Kopsa continued trying, Dennard used both hands to push him away. Finally, as Kopsa continued to handcuff Dennard, Dennard punched him in the jaw.

I'm trying to understand this statement......what's the process for cuffing someone? do you just walk up with a handcuff to un unrestrained seemingly uncooperative person and try to get the cuffs on him?

I don't think a cop is supposed to try to cuff a person unless they're in a 'off-balance' position (on knees, lying on the ground or some other prone position)

It sounds like to me that the office lacked the patience to go through the arrest/cuffing process properly. It sounds like between the failure to properly identify himself and to properly order the subject to a properly prone position, a situation was developed where a lack of understanding was not provided.

The cop claimed he knew who Dennard was and understood what the implications of being aggressive with a drunk 22 year old might entail.

I am not excusing Dennard at all.....I'm merely pointing out that there's enough discrepancy in the cops story that makes me question whether jail time serves a purpose as cops should not be excused from a reasonable process in a detail such as college bars at closing.

be interesting to hear what the other witnesses who are not the other cop have to say. if they don't corroborate the cops, then I can't see how Dennard can be found guilty of the 3rd degree assault on a cop

 

[eom]

btw, I wonder if one of us had been punched in a bar if it'd be handled like this, or would the cops just break it up and tell us to cool off.

 

[kennyb]

If he didn't know it was a cop, doesn't that lessen his culpability?

I wonder what the verdict and punishment will be.

 

[BrickPat]

I'm trying to understand this statement......what's the process for cuffing someone? do you just walk up with a handcuff to un unrestrained seemingly uncooperative person and try to get the cuffs on him?

Should the cop have waited until Dennard was cooperative before handcuffing him? You'll just have to take my word for it that uncooperative people tend to remain uncooperative when you're attampting to place them under arrest.

I don't think a cop is supposed to try to cuff a person unless they're in a 'off-balance' position (on knees, lying on the ground or some other prone position)

You watch too many TV shows. Yes, in an ideal setting the suspect would be cooperative and proned out but guess what? That doesn't always happen with the aforementioned uncooperative people who also may be bleepfaced. If that cop had slammed Dennard to the floor the same internet lawyers would be accusing him of brutality.

It sounds like to me that the office lacked the patience to go through the arrest/cuffing process properly. It sounds like between the failure to properly identify himself and to properly order the subject to a properly prone position, a situation was developed where a lack of understanding was not provided.

Your assumptions and pontifications are breathtaking in their sheer ignorance. You are the poster child on why the police take a dim view of civilian review boards.

The cop claimed he knew who Dennard was and understood what the implications of being aggressive with a drunk 22 year old might entail.

LOL, you critique the cop for trying to cuff an drunk and uncooperative Dennard in one sentence and now this... Here is a newsflash, getting assaulted may by a consequence of the job but it's not part of the job. The fact that you can't tell the difference speaks volumes.

I am not excusing Dennard at all.....

Yes you are, please don't insult our collective intelligence.

I'm merely pointing out that there's enough discrepancy in the cops story that makes me question whether jail time serves a purpose as cops should not be excused from a reasonable process in a detail such as college bars at closing.

You are all over the place. The question of jail time or lack thereof is decided by a judge. The cop only needed PC to make the arrest which by all accounts he did- period. Your self professed expertise relative to "reasonable process" whatver the hell that means is duly noted.

be interesting to hear what the other witnesses who are not the other cop have to say. if they don't corroborate the cops, then I can't see how Dennard can be found guilty of the 3rd degree assault on a cop

OTOH if the bartender and bouncers indicate otherwise Dennard is toast but it likely won't come to that.

I hate to break it to you that this ain't the OJ trial. The assaulted cop is a pretty good witness in and of himself. Then again judging by the tone of your posts he was a clueless jack booted government thug who ambushed the unsuspecting Dennard for no apparent reason.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Should the cop have waited until Dennard was cooperative before handcuffing him? You'll just have to take my word for it that uncooperative people tend to remain uncooperative when you're attampting to place them under arrest.



You watch too many TV shows. Yes, in an ideal setting the suspect would be cooperative and proned out but guess what? That doesn't always happen with the aforementioned uncooperative people who also may be bleepfaced. If that cop had slammed Dennard to the floor the same internet lawyers would be accusing him of brutality.

FWIW, if I was on the jury in question, I would place exactly as much weight to the statements of the officers at the



Your assumptions and pontifications are breathtaking in their sheer ignorance. You are the poster child on why the police take a dim view of civilian review boards.



LOL, you critique the cop for trying to cuff an drunk and uncooperative Dennard in one sentence and now this... Here is a newsflash, getting assaulted may by a consequence of the job but it's not part of the job. The fact that you can't tell the difference speaks volumes.



Yes you are, please don't insult our collective intelligence.



You are all over the place. The question of jail time or lack thereof is decided by a judge. The cop only needed PC to make the arrest which by all accounts he did- period. Your self professed expertise relative to "reasonable process" whatver the hell that means is duly noted.



OTOH if the bartender and bouncers indicate otherwise Dennard is toast but it likely won't come to that.

I hate to break it to you that this ain't the OJ trial. The assaulted cop is a pretty good witness in and of himself. Then again judging by the tone of your posts he was a clueless jack booted government thug who ambushed the unsuspecting Dennard for no apparent reason.

And this entire post sums up why a whole lot of us take a dim view of police, on the aggregate. In my day-to-day life as a productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, I am more concerned about being harassed by the police than by the general public. The attitude that your posts exude is precisely the problem.

FWIW, if I was a part of the jury in question, I would place exactly as much weight to the statements of the police as I would to anyone else who was there. I'd trust statements made by the bartenders and bouncers a good deal more, on the face of it (without accounting for specific facts of the case). Officers on the scene have a built-in bias that makes their statements difficult to take at face value.

 

[IllegalContact]

Should the cop have waited until Dennard was cooperative before handcuffing him? You'll just have to take my word for it that uncooperative people tend to remain uncooperative when you're attampting to place them under arrest.

I don't know....maybe getting him down on the ground?

You watch too many TV shows. Yes, in an ideal setting the suspect would be cooperative and proned out but guess what? That doesn't always happen with the aforementioned uncooperative people who also may be bleepfaced. If that cop had slammed Dennard to the floor the same internet lawyers would be accusing him of brutality..

actually, I got this from the boston police department procedure for handcuffing......

Your assumptions and pontifications are breathtaking in their sheer ignorance. You are the poster child on why the police take a dim view of civilian review boards.

you sound like you are from law enforcement.....there are lots of dim cops out there.

LOL, you critique the cop for trying to cuff an drunk and uncooperative Dennard in one sentence and now this... Here is a newsflash, getting assaulted may by a consequence of the job but it's not part of the job. The fact that you can't tell the difference speaks volumes.

I can tell the difference between a good cop and a bad one....you sound like the latter

Yes you are, please don't insult our collective intelligence.

speak for yourself.......and no....you have no intelligence

You are all over the place. The question of jail time or lack thereof is decided by a judge. The cop only needed PC to make the arrest which by all accounts he did- period. Your self professed expertise relative to "reasonable process" whatver the hell that means is duly noted.

all accounts have not been communicate you moron.......you must be a cop since you think once the cops have accounted, that all accounts have been recieved......LOL at you giving yourself a bad name

OTOH if the bartender and bouncers indicate otherwise Dennard is toast but it likely won't come to that.

I hate to break it to you that this ain't the OJ trial. The assaulted cop is a pretty good witness in and of himself. Then again judging by the tone of your posts he was a clueless jack booted government thug who ambushed the unsuspecting Dennard for no apparent reason.

you're sinking in your own point....or lack of

 

[IllegalContact]

And this entire post sums up why a whole lot of us take a dim view of police, on the aggregate. In my day-to-day life as a productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, I am more concerned about being harassed by the police than by the general public. The attitude that your posts exude is precisely the problem.

FWIW, if I was a part of the jury in question, I would place exactly as much weight to the statements of the police as I would to anyone else who was there. I'd trust statements made by the bartenders and bouncers a good deal more, on the face of it (without accounting for specific facts of the case). Officers on the scene have a built-in bias that makes their statements difficult to take at face value.

just like I said earlier.....I trust cops about as much as I trust football players.

the facts are not all out and all of it is specualtion from this end.......but BrickPat has already tied Dennards noose

 

[eom]

Your assumptions and pontifications are breathtaking in their sheer ignorance. You are the poster child on why the police take a dim view of civilian review boards.

you should make that your sig.

 

[BradyFTW!]

just like I said earlier.....I trust cops about as much as I trust football players.

the facts are not all out and all of it is specualtion from this end.......but BrickPat has already tied Dennards noose

Because however the cop who was hit said it happened is clearly how it happened. No reasonable doubt there, his testimony is all that you need. He is, after all, a sworn officer of the law.

Anyone who's ever dealt with a bored cop on a power trip knows exactly how much that means.

 

[eom]

dennard's just lucky he didn't get his house torched

 

[Fencer]

When two people have an unpleasant confrontation, I don't necessarily think the one with a badge should be believed any more than the one without, and certainly not to the point of convicting beyond reasonable doubt.

That leaves security cameras, witnesses and so on as the tie-breaker.

 

[BrickPat]

I don't know....maybe getting him down on the ground?

Again you have the benefit of being an expert behind your keyboard but in a one on one confrontation a cop cannot always take a violently struggling suspectto the ground. You are dismissive ofthe cop's actions based on this point alone

actually, I got this from the boston police department procedure for handcuffing......

Psssst....I'll give you a hint that I went through the Boston Police Academy. Please cite the passage or lack thereof relative to a suspect who cannot be brought to the ground.

you sound like you are from law enforcement.....there are lots of dim cops out there.

Indeed. You are wasting your talent on this messagebaord. You are clearly a highly educated person and self professed expert in police operations and should apply forthwith to be a BPA Instructor.

I can tell the difference between a good cop and a bad one....you sound like the latter

Of course you can tell the difference...you are an expert on the police. It's hard to argue with your internet assessment.

speak for yourself.......and no....you have no intelligence

Of course, that's why I became a cop.

all accounts have not been communicate you moron.......you must be a cop since you think once the cops have accounted, that all accounts have been recieved......LOL at you giving yourself a bad name

I can see that reading comprehension wasn't covered in genius school as I previously disclosed that I was a cop.

you're sinking in your own point....or lack of

Hard to refute that logic.

 

[IllegalContact]

Again you have the benefit of being an expert behind your keyboard but in a one on one conrontation a cop cannot always take a violently struggling suspectto the ground. You are dismissive ofthe cop's actions based on this point alone

Psssst....I'll give you a hint that I went through the Boston Police Academy. Please cite the passage or lack thereof relative to a suspect who cannot be brought to the ground.

Indeed. You are wasting your talent on this messagebaord. You are clearly a highly educated person and self professed expert in police operations and should apply forthwith to be a BPA Instructor.

Of course you can tell the difference...you are an expert on the police. It's hard to argue with your internet asessment.

Of course, that's why I became a cop.

I can see that reading comprehension wasn't covered in genius school as I previously disclosed that I was a cop.

Hard to refute that logic.

yep...... big mouth, small brain...... cop was my first guess

I understand you defending your profession....prostitutes do that, too

 

[BrickPat]

And this entire post sums up why a whole lot of us take a dim view of police, on the aggregate. In my day-to-day life as a productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, I am more concerned about being harassed by the police than by the general public. The attitude that your posts exude is precisely the problem.

That attitude was in direct response to a specific poster. I will happily discuss how the police do things but it's tough not to have an attitide with people who have never done a job telling you how to do yours. I don't know what you do for a livng but I hope you see my point in that you wouldn't appreciate it.

FWIW, if I was a part of the jury in question, I would place exactly as much weight to the statements of the police as I would to anyone else who was there. I'd trust statements made by the bartenders and bouncers a good deal more, on the face of it (without accounting for specific facts of the case).

I have no argument with that.

Officers on the scene have a built-in bias that makes their statements difficult to take at face value.

Respectfully, isn't that default position hypocritical in that you have a bias against the police? If Dennard's friends testified for him would you similarly dismiss them for being biased toward their friend and against the police?

It's frustrating that I once had a whole family ready to testify that their out of control, police assaulting relative did nothing prior to being arrested. If it had not been for their feuding neighbor with a camera I and my co workers would've been cast as heavy handed thugs. Needless to say that their statements and recollections did a 180 when that recording surfaced.

I have no doubt there are a-holes who give the profession a bad name but it's sad that people automatically view the police as the problem. It's as if personal responsbility takes a backseat if you can blame it on someone else.

 

[IllegalContact]

Respectfully, isn't that default position hypocritical in that you have a bias against the police? If Dennard's friends testified for him would you similarly dismiss them for being biased toward their friend and against the police?

so this is in your job description? that 2nd cop should do what?

just don't throw a snowball at a cop!!!!!

BU Student Arrested During Snowball Fight « CBS Boston

 

[DaBruinz]

This is your post correct? You would agree with me that you wrote "Off Duty" and I should be fired for "Disorderly conduct". So far I have posted the law and the fact pattern in the case and that fact pattern does not reflect in your posts.

From reading the story why would the Pros. give in. The cop and Dennard are face to face and he tells him several times he is under arrest and then assaulted and it is witnesses by another cop. Slam dunk!

Don't forget lawyers egos get in the way. I had a brass knuckles case and the Pros. and defense got into a serious argument over brass knuckles and it was beyond stupid, but hey it was all about ego and not the case. All I kept hearing "well lets got to trail" "Ok lets do that". Over brass knuckles, pretty stupid!

Pats68 - Do myself and Deuis and whatever city you are currently working for as an officer and resign because you clearly have a problem distinguishing between DEUS IRAE and DABRUINZ.

To ignore with the ignorant.

 

[DaBruinz]

You wanted facts maybe you should read first before you comment. Clearly you have zero clue what the crime of disorderly conduct is. I have court tomorrow and I am going to let the prosecutors look at your post so we can laugh together.

LINCOLN — A Lincoln police officer said he got more than he bargained for last April when he decided to arrest Alfonzo Dennard after he saw the former Husker cornerback punch a man on a Lincoln street after bar closing.

Officer Benjamin Kopsa was the prosecution's first witness in Dennard's trial in Lancaster County District Court. Dennard, 23, faces a felony charge of third-degree assault on an officer and two misdemeanors in the April 21, 2012, incident. If convicted of all three charges, Dennard, who plays now for the New England Patriots, faces a maximum jail term of seven years, plus up to $12,000 in fines.

Kopsa said Dennard tried to elude him after he rushed up to arrest him. Dennard backed away and said "I'm good, I'm good. I'm going home." Kopsa said he told Dennard four or five times he was under arrest and to put his arms behind his back. Three times, he grabbed Dennard's right arm to try to cuff him. On the first two tries, Dennard pulled his arm away. On the third try, Dennard used both hands to swat Kopsa's hands away.

..........

Kopsa said he recognized Dennard as a former Husker and also knew that he was about to go through the NFL draft.

Although he had previously seen the football player around Lincoln's downtown bars, Kopsa said he'd never met Dennard before, never had any problems with him and had no reason to target him.

Kopsa estimated Dennard at 5-feet-10, 225 pounds and muscular, while he stands just under 6 feet and weighs 195.

Acton asked Kopsa to describe what Dennard's punch felt like.

"Like a very hard object hitting me in the jaw," he said.

BTW, you violated the copyright laws with your posting here. Do yourself a favor and read the rules of the board before posting anymore. Or, turn yourself in for having violated the Copyright laws so that you can be prosecuted. I mean you ARE an officer of the law and should be upholding it, right?

 

[BrickPat]

so this is in your job description? that 2nd cop should do what?

just don't throw a snowball at a cop!!!!!

BU Student Arrested During Snowball Fight « CBS Boston

Can I ask what you do for a living?

If the kid whipped a snowball at my head then yes I would likely arrest him. Why? It's simple, we don't have the luxury of being the average Joe and walking away. If that cop had walked away one thrown snowball would turn into 100. I'm sorry to inform you that cops don't get paid to be targets for people's entertainment. You are the self professed criminal expert so you've surely heard of the broken windows theory. The snowball stuff is in the same category in that if you allow people to throw snowballs or anything else at the police it creates a slippery slope and sets a bad precedent that anything goes with the police.

I realize that's not a popular response but there has to be a boundary somewhere.

 

[BB4PRez]

If it had not been for their feuding neighbor with a camera I and my co workers would've been cast as heavy handed thugs.

Trying to stay away from the personal stuff.

I do find it interesting that there was a video of this incident and the reporter I read descibed the scene on the video as "chaos".

"A 17-second cellphone video caught the chaos of what happened at bar break April 21 in the middle of 14th Street near O Street. But whether jurors could make out former Husker and current New England Patriots player Alfonzo Dennard throwing a punch at a Lincoln police officer remained unclear to those watching from the gallery Tuesday."​

Officer says former Husker punched him in the face : News-crime

I agree with your comment in an earlier post that the officer's testimony seemed strong. But, if the video contradicts the officers testimony, a good lawyer should be able to use that to plant a few seeds of reasonable doubt in a closing.

 

[DaBruinz]

You wanted facts maybe you should read first before you comment. Clearly you have zero clue what the crime of disorderly conduct is. I have court tomorrow and I am going to let the prosecutors look at your post so we can laugh together.

He'll likely be laughing at you since you are the one talking out your arse left and right. And, unlike you, I have quoted the testimony previously. You haven't. In fact, your claims have gone in direct opposition to what the testimony said.

First, I told you not to comment unless you knew the story. You clearly didn't upon your first post and you've been struggling to catch up ever since.

Second, I clearly DO have a clue (moreso than you) of what disorderly conduct is. You, sir, don't and I stand by that statement. You posting some legal mumbo jumbo from an uncited source doesn't make you correct.

Third, You claimed that 2 police saw Dennard punch someone. That was false. I cited Officer Kopsa's testimony that "Dennard dropped his shoulder and pushed through another man" while crossing 14th St. I cited Officer McBride's court testimony that he only saw Kopsa wave and then Kopsa get hit by Dennard.

Fourth, you ignore that Ben Samani, the man allegedly hit by Dennard in the crosswalk, was not able to identify Dennard as his assailant. Yet, I'm supposed to believe a guy who is 70 ft away can make out Dennard's actions in a crowd of people that are crossing the street both ways?

So, I stand by my previous comments especially since it's clear you have your bias because you're a cop.