SPOKANE COUNTY, Wash. — The former Spokane County Sheriff’s sergeant accused of beating a man pleaded not guilty to assault charges on Wednesday.
At the arraignment hearing, Clay Hilton’s attorney adamantly argued against probable cause on the case, a decision that had been made by another judge.
Clay Hilton is accused of second-degree assault charges for using excessive force while beating Kevin Hinton in August 2023. Hinton was sitting in his car alone at a park in Spokane Valley.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: SPD recommends assault charge against Spokane County Deputy in excessive force investigation
Body camera footage shows the two having a back-and-forth conversation during which Hinton refused to give his name. The altercation cause Hinton to end up at the hospital with several broken ribs, a punctured lung, a concussion and a disfigured lip.
“It appears as though we have a law enforcement officer who in the exercise of his duty, attempted to gain compliance of a suspect,” stated Hilton’s attorney. “The suspect resisted, and the officer engaged in force, just because somebody engaged in force, doesn’t mean an assault has taken place.”
The incident was investigated by the Spokane Police Department, which was the agency that recommended the charges.
The Spokane County Prosecutor argued the affidavit laid out what happened in detail, justifying probable cause.
“He (Hilton) did not engage in any de-escalation tactics whatsoever, which is required by the law,” said the Prosecutor on Wednesday. “In fact, he engaged in taunting, he engaged, in brutal force, in a situation where an individual had only committed an infraction.”
The judge at the arraignment seconded the previous court’s decision on probable cause for this case.
Trial is set to begin on December 16th.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Attorney plans civil lawsuit against Spokane County deputy for assault
COPYRIGHT 2024 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.