Trial begins for HPD officer charged in Chad Holley beating As trial opens, jury's decision could come down to split second of grainy video of beating

Former HPD officer Drew Ryser was called a hero by his defense team in opening statements. Former HPD officer Drew Ryser was called a hero by his defense team in opening statements. Photo: James Nielsen, Staff Photo: James Nielsen, Staff Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Trial begins for HPD officer charged in Chad Holley beating 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A handful of Houston police officers were caught on videotape beating 15-year-old Chad Holley in 2010, but whether former officer Drew Ryser did anything wrong may come down to a split second of grainy video deciphered by the jury.

"The initial contact was mistreatment," said Tiffany Jefferson, a police academy trainer who testified Monday that Ryser kicked then stomped Holley's head as officers descended on the burglar.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers sparred for hours over Jefferson's words on the first day of Ryser's trial on charges of official oppression stemming from a beating recorded on surveillance video March 23, 2010.

Jefferson, who started at HPD in 1995 and has been a defensive tactics instructor for eight years, was unequivocal when she began testifying as an expert about Ryser's actions.

She said the level of force the officer used was not appropriate. It was mistreatment, she said, because the teenager who was lying on his stomach on the ground with his hands over his head was being compliant.

Then Jefferson gave Ryser's defense team an opening by casting doubt on Holley's cooperation as other officers punched and kicked him.

"There are times when he's being compliant and times when he's not being compliant," Jefferson said.

Four officers, including Ryser, were indicted on misdemeanor charges. Raad Hassan and Phil Bryan, who had bigger roles in the videotaped beating, pleaded "no contest" in April and were sentenced to two years probation. Hassan can be seen kicking the teen lying on his stomach in the groin after he is handcuffed.

'He was brave'

On Monday, Ryser's attorneys pointed out several times that the jury must decide about Ryser's actions and not the behavior of any other officer.

His partner, former officer Andrew Blomberg, was found not guilty after a trial last year for his role in the beating.

In opening statements, lawyers for Ryser said their client is a hero whose actions were textbook procedures.

"In our eyes, he's a hero, and he was brave on this day," attorney Carson Joachim said. "These officers have to stay one level of force above the level they are dealing with - that's how lives are saved."

In the video, Holley, then 15, can be seen fleeing officers then falling to the ground as he tries to hurdle the fender of a squad car that cut him off next to a fence.

Chief will testify

Special prosecutor Tommy Lafon told jurors Holley, who was fleeing a daytime burglary, can clearly be seen flipping on to his stomach and putting his hands on his head before half a dozen officers reach him and begin punching, kneeing and kicking him.

"You'll see kicks, hits, punches and them rubbing his face in the ground," Lafon told the jury. "When did we go from taking this kid into custody to whaling on him?"

If convicted of the class A misdemeanor, the officer - who lost his job for his actions in the beating - faces a sentence ranging from probation to a year in jail.

Lafon told jurors they would hear testimony from HPD Police Chief Charles McClelland, who disciplined a dozen officers in connection with the case.

Burglary conviction

Holley was later convicted of burglary in juvenile court. Last year, he was caught committing another burglary and was sentenced to seven years probation in April. As a condition of probation, he has to spend six months in jail.

The 19-year-old was brought into the courtroom handcuffed and in an orange jail uniform.

He did not speak as a juvenile detention center paramedic briefly described the cuts and scrapes he had when he was brought in after the beating.

Holley was not seriously injured, which prosecutors have pointed to when asked about plea bargains without jail time for the officers.

Ryser is being prosecuted by criminal defense lawyers LaFon and Jon Munier, who were appointed as special prosecutors after Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson recused his office because of a conflict of interest.

The trial, in state District Judge Ruben Guerrero's court, is expected to last a week.