Matthew Corder, a former Louisville Metro Police officer, was acquitted yesterday of all charges from an incident in which he drew his weapon and handcuffed someone trying to repossess his sport utility vehicle in 2002.
After the verdict was read, Corder slumped forward, hanging his head and pounding a fist on the table; his family cried and hugged one another behind him.
The Jefferson Circuit Court jury deliberated less than four hours before finding Corder was not guilty of tampering with a witness, wanton endangerment, unlawful imprisonment and official misconduct in the Oct. 8, 2002, incident.
Had he been convicted, Corder, 41, could have been sentenced to as many as 15 years in prison.
Now Corder, a city officer for more than 11 years, will try to get his job back, said Keith Kamenish, Corder's attorney.
"He's just thrilled to death," Kamenish told reporters shortly after the verdict. "These charges never should have been brought."
Corder declined to comment as he left the courthouse. A lawsuit against Corder related to the incident is pending, as is the appeal of his firing, Kamenish said.
Metro Police Chief Robert White fired Corder in May 2003, after an internal investigation into why Corder handcuffed a man while Corder's vehicle was being repossessed by Bluegrass Recovery and Towing.
Corder said he was arresting the man for disorderly conduct, but he subsequently made a deal with a woman at the towing company to release the man if she released his vehicle, White wrote in a termination letter.
In closing arguments yesterday, Kamenish denied any such deal, telling jurors that Corder looked out a window that night and saw people trying to take his vehicle.
Kamenish said the towing employees arrived late at night, weren't wearing uniforms, turned the tow truck lights off and didn't tell Corder they were repossessing the vehicle.
"They showed up there dressed and acting like thieves," he said. "They were asking for this."
Corder ran out the door and drew his weapon in an effort to find out what the people were doing and to "control the situation" -- eventually handcuffing one employee, Kamenish said.
Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Mac Shannon said Corder was behind on his payments, knew the vehicle was being repossessed and abused his authority as a police officer.
Shannon noted that Corder didn't call for police backup -- saying it was because he didn't want anyone to know he had drawn his weapon and handcuffed a towing employee.
"He went out there to intimidate them and get rid of them," Shannon said.
Previously, Corder was accused twice of using excessive force. One was in the 1998 arrest of Adrian Reynolds, which came under scrutiny because Reynolds later died of unrelated injuries after a struggle in the Jefferson County Jail with corrections officers.
Corder had come across Reynolds, who fit the description of a man sought after a violent domestic dispute that evening. There were no witnesses to the encounter, but when other officers arrived they found Reynolds soaked in blood from a fight, according to an internal affairs investigation. It found that Corder had struck Reynolds on the head with a flashlight and punched him, breaking his nose. Doug Hamilton, who was Louisville police chief, and Ron Ricucci, who was the city's public safety director, ruled that Corder's actions were justified.
Corder also was accused in a civil case of assault and battery and excessive force.
In that case, he acknowledged punching a man in January 1998 at The Gardens while working security at a Toughman Contest. Corder said he was trying to escort a drunk and combative spectator from the building.
A jury ruled in favor of Corder.