No verdict yet in civil trial against Atlantic City officers

Jurors in a civil suit against Atlantic City and three of its police officers ended the first full day of deliberations without a verdict. Officers Anthony Abrams, John Devlin and William Moore are accused of using excessive force in the March 13, 2013, arrest of Steven Stadler. Jurors deliberated for about an hour after closing arguments Tuesday. After returning Wednesday, they asked to rehear the radio transmissions from that night. Tracy Riley, the officers’ attorney, told jurors during her closing Tuesday that the six snippets of recording were the only thing that could put them there that night. The audio begins with a cell phone call from Abrams, who was off-duty and without a radio when he happened upon Stadler burglarizing a carwash. He identifies himself to the dispatcher, and asks her to send someone to the carwash on Albany Avenue. “Just saw a male break in and now the alarm’s going off,” he says. When he calls back, Abrams is breathless as he informs the dispatcher, “He’s running to the Knight’s Inn.” In another call, he tells the dispatcher, “We’ve got the male 18 (the code for the dispatcher). He’s resisting.” An officer is later heard yelling, “Stop resisting.” Stadler’s attorney, Jennifer Bonjean, agreed that the recordings are important. But pointed to what wasn’t said. There is no indication that Stadler has a weapon of any kind or that the officers are in fear, she said. A pry bar Abrams said Stadler had was never found, and is not mentioned in the calls. She also claimed you can hear Stadler punched twice on one of the tapes. “There it is!” Bonjean yelled out at one point, raising her right arm straight up. A short time later: “There it is again.” Jurors were seen listening intently as that portion of the tape was played. They will return to court Thursday to continue deliberating.