Detroit: An audio recording of a confrontation with police should overturn man's conviction.
An attorney plans to use an inadvertent 21-minute recording from an officer's lapel microphone as grounds to overturn a misdemeanor conviction against a husband who allegedly was beaten by officers trying to mediate a dispute between the man and his wife.
The husband, Jeffrey Kodlowski, suspected his wife of cheating and initiated the March 18, 2009, incident when he took her cell phone in an attempt to prove her infidelity. Marlyn Kodlowski then began a series of phone calls to police that led to the arrival of officers Michael Little and Kyle Dawley to the Kodlowski residence on South Hanlon Street.
Jeffrey Kodlowski's attorney, Joseph Corriveau, says the recording, captured by Little's lapel microphone, shows the police overreached their authority and allegedly attacked his client, who was charged with assaulting the officers; he was acquitted of the assault charge and found guilty of resisting arrest.
Although assaulting a police officer is a felony in Michigan, Westland officials did not submit the case to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review; instead, Kodlowski was charged in 29th District Court under city code violations of assault and resisting arrest.
"The audio shows these officers clearly stepped over the line," said Corriveau, who filed a motion with the Michigan Court of Appeals in December, after Wayne Circuit Judge Craig Strong refused to hear the case on appeal.
"If the microphone hadn't been on, this would've been just a 'he said, she said' situation. But the audio tells the story," the attorney said.
Corriveau said he also plans to file a civil lawsuit against the police seeking damages for the beating, but is waiting to see how the appeal plays out first.
"(District Judge Mark McConnell) didn't allow photos of my client's injuries, or any mention of the beating these officers gave him," Corriveau said. "The judge also wouldn't let the jury see a transcript of the audio."
Curt Benson, a professor at Cooley School of Law, said police officers are required to leave a private residence once they determine no crime has been committed, even if they were invited inside.
"If they believe someone has committed a crime, they can make an arrest," he said. "But in a case like this, if they weren't sure who owned the phone, as long as there was no evidence of a crime, they should have told them to talk to a lawyer. They're required to leave if they're asked to leave and there's no crime.
Link: http://detnews.com/article/20110130/METRO/101300309