South Florida

Man Convicted of 2 of 4 Counts After Conflict With Police

A South Florida banker who says he was a victim of excessive force by police was convicted of felony battering and resisting arrest by an Orange County jury.

The Orlando Sentinel reports that a jury of three men and three women deliberated seven hours following a weeklong trial and returned the conviction against 31-year-old Noel Carter.

Jurors acquitted Carter of battery and deadlocked on a resistance-with-violence charge.

Prosecutors portrayed Carter as a belligerent threat; the defense as a target of police misconduct.

A cellphone video captured Carter being kicked six times by officer David Cruz as Carter sat on the ground. He was also tased, pepper-sprayed and hit with a baton by officers. But the prosecutors argued Carter instigated the six-minute confrontation.

The officers have been cleared of wrongdoing.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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