In a time where most confrontations between the police and the public can be clearly seen on video and submitted to a jury for deliberation, what happened between Salem Patrolman Ryan Arundel and a homeless man named Daniel Jacques in 2019 was not.
The very fact that video surveillance was missing turned out to be the key point in Jacques' defense during his trial on Monday.
The homeless man had been facing assault charges, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was found not guilty on all counts on late Monday afternoon, as Yahoo News reports.
“It didn't show what they wanted it to show. That's why you didn't see it,” Jacques' defense attorney, John Morris, said in front of the Salem District Court jury in his closing argument.
Prosecutor April Pagliarulo classified that argument as “a smokescreen” meant to distract the jury from the fact that, based on Arundel’s testimony, it was Jacques, now 41, who made the first threatening move towards the officer. The homeless man reportedly told the officer, “I've been waiting for you,” when Arundel went to check on him.
The incident happened on December 30, 2019, in the afternoon. Arundel, a member of the Salem Police Department's community impact unit, was just starting on his shift at that time.
The officer testified that he drove past a bus shelter in front of Walgreens on New Derby Street. Over there he spotted a group of homeless people. After handling the group, Arundel saw a man leaning against a wall. When he got closer Jacques suddenly attacked him.
The injuries in the attack kept the officer out of work for a good while. A store camera mounted at Walgreens didn’t capture the incident at all.
In her closing argument, Pagliarulo admitted that there was no video, but said this was merely a distraction from the facts.
After 40 minutes of deliberation, the jury found the homeless man not guilty in the Salem incident.