LMPD officer pleads not guilty on battery charge

A Louisville Metro Police officer, caught on a security camera punching his wife in the face before kicking her in the head, pleaded not guilty to battery charges, among other things, Thursday morning in a Clark County courtroom.

In the graphic video, Jonathan Osborne, 34, is seen assaulting his wife, including punching and slapping her in the face multiple times, after they'd crashed their car in the parking lot of a Sellersburg business on Sunday.

The backhand captured on video was so forceful the woman's body left the ground briefly then she landed on the ground, where he kicked her in the arm and chest.

The attack only stops when two witnesses get out of their vehicle and approach the couple.

The video shows the male witness tackling Jonathan Osborne, while the disoriented blonde-haired victim stumbles as she tries to get to her feet. The female witness helps her up.

Osborne's attorney Bart Betteau said after Thursday's hearing that Osborne is "extremely sorry" about the incident.

"You can see what happened on the video," Betteau said. "No one could be proud of that."

But Betteau noted that the video doesn't show why the assault happened, though he declined to discuss what may have led to the fight.

"We have something that we could present to a jury which would in fact make him not guilty in this case, if we choose to do that. Do not think this is a clear-cut case of criminal wrongdoing on his part," he said.

Osborne posted his $30,000 bond Monday after being charged with aggravated battery, battery, domestic battery, criminal recklessness, public intoxication and resisting law enforcement.

Those initial charges were dropped and a hearing was canceled Wednesday after Prosecutor Jeremy Mull's office filed new charges: battery resulting in serious bodily injury, attempted battery of a police officer for trying to spit on an officer, resisting law enforcement and criminal mischief leading to the monetary loss of at least $750 but less than $50,000.

Clark Circuit Judge Andrew Adams on Thursday reiterated to Osborne that he's been ordered not to contact his wife as a provision of his bond.

"That means no contact by Twitter, by Facebook, by mail, by text message, by email, by carrier pigeon, by kick," Adams said, later adding he isn't allowed to go to his home near Plainview until he hears otherwise from the court.

Osborne was initially assigned to desk duty after the incident. But Metro Police Chief Steve Conrad said Wednesday he watched the video and opted instead to suspend him without pay.

Osborne's wife told sheriff's deputies that she was driving him home from a Super Bowl party when he "suddenly became very angry and punched her in the right side of the face," according to a probable-cause affidavit filed by Clark County Sheriff's Deputy Barret Cook.

She then swerved and crashed into a tractor parked at Ray's Lawn and Garden Center near Sellersburg.

The video shows witnesses Louis Mossey and Victoria Wimp, who told police they were in a vehicle behind the Osbornes on a straight stretch of Ind. 403 near Sellersburg, stopping after seeing the wreck. Wimp told police Jonathan Osborne told her to shut up when she asked if they were all right.

Mossey then walked around the other side of the Osbornes' vehicle, and saw Osborne's wife on the ground.

"He said Mrs. Osborne was on her hands and feet trying to retrieve some papers when Mr. Osborn kicked Mrs. Osborne in the head in what was described to me as a 'football-style' kick, causing Mrs. Osborne to fall backwards. Mr. Mossey then said Mr. Osborne moved over top of Mrs. Osborne and tried to choke her out," Cook wrote.

Police said Jonathan Osborne also tried to spit on them so they put a spit shield on his face. Cook said he later had to stop on Interstate 65 to tie a strap around the handcuffed Osborne's feet after he tried to kick out the police cruiser window.

Osborne, a 9-year-veteran with the department, currently works as a patrol officer in the first division, an area near the Ohio River that includes downtown and the Butchertown, Phoenix Hill, Portland and Russell neighborhoods.

His personnel record, released Thursday by the department, reveals he was involved in a shooting in September 2008.

He and a second officer, James Denson, were investigating a robbery on September 2, 2008, when the suspect, Tommy Johnson, 41, pulled a gun, pointed it at them and tried to flee, according to police records. Both officers returned fire but missed.

Both officers were exonerated. Then-chief Robert White wrote that their use of force was reasonable.

Osborne was also investigated for skipping court appearances, though the punishment was only to be counseled on the policy.

His record is otherwise clean: In 2009, he was commended for saving a victim of domestic violence, who had been stabbed. He has also been honored for cracking down on aggressive panhandling downtown, saving a man threatening to jump from the Clark Memorial Bridge and securing a hospital emergency room when a man entered with an assault rifle, among other incidents.

Osborne is scheduled to next appear in court in April. His trial is set to begin in July.

Reporter Claire Galofaro contributed to this report. Charlie White can be reached at (812) 949-4026 or on Twitter @c_write.