MIAMI (WSVN) - Opening statements have begun in the case against a Miami-Dade Police sergeant who was allegedly caught on camera roughly arresting a teenager.
Police Sgt. Manuel Reguiero appeared in a Miami courtroom on Tuesday morning.
Reguiero and Officer Alexander Gonzalez both face criminal charges stemming from surveillance video of a 2018 arrest that appears to show Reguiero slapping then 18-year-old Bryan Crespo while he was handcuffed.
Reguiero, a 20-year veteran, faces one count of battery.
His lawyers claim the strike was self-defense, while prosecutors said it was excessive force.
“Sgt. Manuel Reguiero approached the victim and slapped him across his face,” prosecutor Kerrie Crockett said. “Members of the jury, that slap was unwarranted.”
C. Michael Cornely, Reguiero’s attorney, previously released a statement to 7News that read in part, “The charge is over reach by the State Attorney’s Office. The suspect was about to spit on him, and we believe it is a right of self defense.”
The surveillance video is expected to be played for the jury.
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