Our
Cases > Criminal
>
State v. Mosely
Jury Acquits Man Accused Of Driving ATV
At Officer
BYLINE: John Pacenti Palm Beach Post
Staff Writer
DATE: 05-01-2002
PUBLICATION: The Palm Beach Post
EDITION: FINAL SECTION: Local_News
PAGE: 1
State Attorney Barry Krischer said Simon P.
Mosely tried to run over a Belle Glade policeman
with an all-terrain vehicle and that the officer
clearly was justified when shooting him three
times.
But one of Krischer's own investigators didn't
see it that way. On Tuesday, neither did six
jurors. Mosely, 31, was acquitted of aggravated
battery on a police officer.
The Internet Web designer from Atlanta could
have faced up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
"If the jury used common sense, they couldn't
come back with any other verdict but not guilty,"
Mosely said.
Over the weeklong trial, defense attorneys
Christopher A. Haddad and Rose Marie Feller focused
on the erratic behavior of officer Harold Seiler.
They said it was the officer who jumped off
the curb onto Mosely's ATV on July 4, 2000,
accidentally engaging the accelerator.
The prosecution contended Mosely tried to run
over Seiler to avoid a traffic ticket after
"popping a wheelie."
"This is nothing more than a poorly trained,
ill-equipped police officer who uses cowboy
tactics," Feller said. "In self-protection,
he decided to blame Simon Mosely for his vigilante
tactics."
Mosely said he plans to file a civil lawsuit
over the shooting, which left him with a bullet
lodged in his shoulder and little feeling in
his left hand.
Krischer, in a Sept. 11, 2000, memo to the
Belle Glade chief of police, exonerated Seiler
of any criminal liability, saying the officer
discharged his firearm in "a clear act
of self defense."
Prosecutor Rick Penalta told jurors physical
evidence supported Seiler's version of events,
but jurors said the lack of such evidence is
why they acquitted Mosely.
Defense attorneys planned to call Belle Glade
Commissioner Albert Dowdell on Tuesday. Dowdell
was forced to resign after a short stint as
an investigator for Krischer.
Dowdell - who was not assigned to the Mosely
investigation - told a Belle Glade police officer
that Krischer's office went out of its way to
clear officers accused of wrongdoing and that
Seiler was out of danger when he fired his weapon
at Mosely. Dowdell, who recently underwent heart
surgery, was not called because Haddad felt
the stress of testifying could endanger his
health.
"His opinions are well-known," Haddad
said.
Instead, Mosely's lawyers picked apart Seiler
some more.
Angelo Tsauosis, a police officer in Fort Pierce,
testified that while he was with the Belle Glade
force, he saw Seiler throw a citizen offering
no resistance into the trunk of a car.
He also said that once Seiler drove up to him
and asked him whether he wanted to go to the
poor part of town and mess with some people.
Outside of court, Tsauosis said it was hard
for him to testify against another policeman.
"We worked together for years," he
said. "I think of all officers like my
brother, but sometimes it's important to do
the right thing."
© The Palm Beach Post
|
