Jurors in Delaware are set to hear opening statements and testimony in the trial of a white Dover police officer accused of assaulting a black suspect by kicking him in the head.
Dashcam video taken from another officer's car shows Cpl. Thomas Webster IV kicking Lateef Dickerson in August 2013 while Dickerson was on his hands and knees. Dickerson was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken jaw.
Webster's attorney has maintained that the officer's actions were justified.
Webster, who faces up to eight years in prison if convicted of felony assault, rejected an offer to plead guilty to misdemeanor assault. The plea offer likely would have resulted in probation but would have required him to surrender his police certification and promising to never work as a police officer again.
