The case is about to go to the jury after some dramatic evidence was presented in court. Brian Mulligan alleges he was a victim of excessive force. During closing arguments, his lawyer said pictures of Mulligan's bloodied and bruised face don't lie.
Mulligan testified that LAPD officers John Miller and James Nichols beat him. He said Nichols swung his baton, crushing Mulligan's nose and then breaking his scapula.
The defense showed evidence that Mulligan was in a drug-induced psychotic state after snorting an amphetamine-like drug called "bath salts." Two days before his encounter with LAPD, Mulligan was recorded telling a Glendale officer he had snorted the drug. The recording was played for the jury.
"How many times have you used it?" the officer asked Mulligan.
"I've probably used it 20 times. I've never...nothing addicts me," Mulligan replied.
Mulligan testified he later went to Eagle Rock to get medical marijuana. A parade of witnesses testified that on that May night in 2012, Mulligan was alone and yelling. They testified he was trying to open car doors and said someone was following him.
The two officers testified they responded and Mulligan passed a field sobriety test. He was not under the influence of a controlled substance. They said Mulligan wanted to go to a motel to sleep it off. They said an hour later, he was out again in the middle of traffic trying to carjack a moving vehicle.
Mulligan's lawyer said "Nichols got mad, got angry, and he took it out on Brian." Mulligan alleges that Nichols threatened to inject a needle in his back and said, "You're going to die tonight of a heroin overdose."
Mulligan's lawyer told jurors that may sound crazy, but no matter what Mulligan's mental state, he did not deserve to be beaten by what he said was a sadistic, rogue cop.
Doctors who testified differed on whether a baton caused the injuries or if it was Mulligan who violently resisted arrest and slammed his own face on the pavement.
The defense says Nichols did not even have his baton at the time of Mulligan's arrest.
