FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - Defense attorneys and prosecutors delivered opening statements and witnesses took the stand on the first day of the trial of a former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy accused of roughing up a teen during a 2019 arrest in Tamarac.
7News cameras captured former BSO Deputy Christopher Krickovich as he sat next to an attorney and took notes inside of a Broward County courtroom, Wednesday afternoon.
Several feet away from them, a prosecutor described the April 18, 2019 arrest of Delucca Rolle, then a 15-year-old high school freshman, outside of a McDonald’s restaurant that was captured in cellphone video that went viral.
“The defendant grabbed Delucca Rolle’s head, slammed it into the ground, and when Delucca Rolle took his right arm to protect his head, the defendant punched Delucca Rolle in the back of the head to get that hand freed and put handcuffs on,” said the prosecutor.
A defense attorney for Krickovich addressed the court next.
“There’s a lot more to this case than what you just heard,” said the attorney.
Body camera video from BSO deputies was also shown to the jury on Wednesday.
Among the witnesses brought in by prosecutors was Mia Edwards, a student at the time of the incident.
“I saw another officer coming up next to [Delucca] and started to bang his head into the ground,” she said.
“What did you do when you saw that?” a prosecutor asked Edwards.
“I was in shock, ’cause I’d never seen it happening,” she said.
The incident drew national concern when Crickovich and BSO Sgt. Gregory LaCerra were shown in the video trying to bring Rolle down to the ground.
LaCerra was also seen pepper-spraying Rolle, and Krickovich was seen slamming the teen’s head against the ground several times.
LaCerra was originally charged with battery but had his case dismissed after a Florida appeals court ruled he was standing his ground and acting in self-defense.
That same appeals court, however, rejected Krickovich’s “stand your ground” defense, saying his actions went beyond what was necessary to subdue Rolle.
“Delucca Rolle never touched either of the officers. Instead, it was the officers that touched Delucca Rolle,” said the prosecutor.
“The plaza became a place for lawlessness, for violence and for outright regular brawls,” said Krickovich’s attorney.
Krickovich has been charged with misdemeanor battery and falsifying records.
His trial is set to resume at 9 a.m. on Thursday.
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