Gerald Parks Jr.

FLINT, MI - Prosecutors have decided to drop the criminal case against a former Genesee County Jail deputy accused of assaulting an inmate.

Genesee County Prosecutor David Leyton confirmed his office has filed to withdraw its appeal - and ultimately end its prosecution - in the felony criminal case against Sgt. Gerald Parks.

"I just think that the case should come to an end," Leyton said, adding the dismissal was in the interest of court efficiency and tax dollars at stake.

Parks was charged criminally with misconduct in office, misuse of a dangerous weapon and assault and battery after he was accused of attacking an inmate inside the county jail in 2012.

Leyton charged Parks in October 2014 after officials with the sheriff's office claimed they uncovered surveillance video of the incident.

Despite the video and testimony regarding the incident, Genesee District Judge M. Cathy Dowd has twice dismissed the charges for lack of probable cause.

"I said very early, I'd let my talking be done in the courtroom," said Parks' attorney, Jay Clothier. "Dismissal is total victory."

Clothier added he and Parks were thankful for the support they received through the case.

Leyton's office was in the process of appealing Dowd's ruling for the second time to Genesee Circuit Judge Joseph J. Farah, but filed Oct. 11 to withdraw the appeal.

The withdrawal means Dowd's ruling will stand and the charges are dismissed against Parks.

Genesee County Sheriff Robert Pickell could not be reached for comment.

The case against Parks has been contentious, with his attorneys alleging the charges were retaliation for a lawsuit he filed against Pickell's office.

Pickell has denied the allegations.

Parks filed the federal lawsuit against the sheriff's office in November 2013 on claims he was retaliated against, and eventually forced to retire after more than 30 years of service, for testimony he gave during an April 2012 union collective bargaining-related arbitration hearing. His testimony was critical of sheriff's office administration.

He recently agreed to settle his case against the sheriff's department for $90,000, according to an agreement obtained by MLive-The Flint Journal through the Freedom of Information Act.

Leyton, who serves as chief legal counsel to the county's Board of Commissioners, denied the settlement had any effect on his decision to drop the case against Parks.

A former inmate at the jail testified he was in a safety cell when he began knocking on the window to get the attention of the deputies. Three deputies, including Parks, approached the inmate who had retreated back to a concrete bench in the room.

The inmate claimed he attempted to hand the deputies his paperwork, but prosecutors say Parks crumpled up the paper and threw it the toilet.

As the inmate sat on the bench with his hands up, the video showed Parks shoot two bursts of pepper spray into the victim's face, according to prosecutors.

After decontaminating the inmate, prosecutors claim multiple deputies could be seen on the video trying to put the struggling inmate into a restraint chair. Prosecutors argue Parks could then be seen making a punching motion directed toward the inmate's midsection as he sat in the chair.

The inmate testified he was sprayed and punched, but he was unable to identify the deputy responsible.

Leyton's office, in its appeal, claimed Dowd abused her discretion by relying on a standard of proof higher than probable cause, which is all that is necessary to bind the case over to circuit court for trial.

"Despite (the inmate's) testimony that he had been punched by a deputy that he could not identify and (Undersheriff) Swanson's testimony identifying the defendant drawing his hand back in a punching manner, coupled with testimony that this was an unjustified use of force, the Court still declined to acknowledge that there was probable cause that any assault took place," Leyton's office argued in its appeal.

"Instead, the Court reasoned that because it could not been seen where the Defendant's hand was landing on the video - if it was striking the chair, the victim, or something else - it had not been shown to a probable cause standard that the Defendant had assaulted the victim under circumstances that did not justify assault."

This isn't the first time Leyton's office has challenged an attempt from Dowd to dismiss the case.

Dowd previously dismissed the charges against Parks in June 2015 after the man Parks was accused of assaulting in the jail was unable to identify him as the deputy who attacked him. The incident was caught on jail surveillance cameras, but Dowd refused to allow a second sheriff's deputy to identify Parks on the video.

The judge claimed it was inappropriate to allow a third-party identification based on the video since the alleged victim was able to testify. She dismissed the case before prosecutors finished presenting witness testimony.

Prosecutors appealed Dowd's decision to Farah, arguing they should have been allowed to introduce a DVD copy of the surveillance video and let the second deputy use it to identify Parks as the perpetrator of the alleged assault.

Farah ruled Dowd abused her discretion by failing to admit the surveillance video as evidence and stated she misinterpreted legal precedent when she did not allow the second deputy to identify Parks in the video.