Delaware Cop Who Kicked Innocent Black Man in Head Cleared of All Charges

In August 2013, Officer Thomas Webster of the Dover Police Department was caught on camera kicking a compliant black man in the face and was subsequently indicted last May. He has now been cleared of all charges.

The Dover Police Department released the horrifying video of the attack on Latif Dickerson in an effort to provide transparency.

Dickerson was left unconscious following the attack, and had his jaw shattered. He had not committed any crime and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Raw Story reported, the officers were looking for an armed black man with a yellow shirt, and their incompetence led them to an innocent unarmed black man with a yellow hat instead.

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“We released the video because the judge considered it no longer to be confidential. We’re a very transparent police department, and we feel that we handled this situation properly,” Dover Police Lt. Jason Pires told local news station WDEL.

In 2014, a grand jury opted not to indict Webster for the vicious assault, but the Delaware Attorney General’s office took the case before a second grand jury, which ultimately chose to charge him for the crime.

Webster had claimed that he “feared for his life,” and that he meant to kick the unarmed man in his body not his face.

On Tuesday, after three days of deliberation, the jury found Webster not guilty on both felony and misdemeanor charges of assault.

“We believe that the video demonstrates the need for large-scale reform of the Dover Police Department, specifically improvements to their use of force and internal affairs practices, and supervision of their officers,” Kathleen MacRae, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware, told the Daily Mail. “The people of Dover have a right to know about this incident and deserve a dialogue with law enforcement about how they can create a safe and equitable Dover community for all.”

It remains unclear whether Webster will be allowed back on the force.