ALPHARETTA, GA - It could happen to any law enforcement officer (LEO). An officer uses what was deemed by his department as a legitimate use of force. Then a politically motivated and ambitious young DA wants to go after the officer and bring him up on criminal charges for excessive use of force – two years after the incident!
That is exactly what happened to former Police Officer Michael Esposito of the Alpharetta Police Department in Georgia.
In May of 2021, Esposito and other officers were physically struggling to detain an aggressive suspect. After several failed attempts to secure the suspect, Esposito’s K9 was utilized to help gain control by grabbing the suspect’s arm, which led to minor injuries.
As with standard protocol for law enforcement agencies, the department thoroughly reviewed the incident and the use of force. The investigators deemed the use of force as appropriate and cleared all the officers of any wrongdoing.
However, nearly two years after the original incident, an apparent politically motivated DA from Fulton County decided Esposito committed a crime and charged him with multiple offenses; aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and violation of oath of office.
As one would expect, this turned Esposito’s life upside down.
A member of Esposito’s legal team told LET, “We have won on every level starting from the internal affairs review, independent expert assessments of our case, and two separate judicial rulings on the state and federal level showing that Michael did not violate the law or any civil rights. Yet, he and his family have been burdened with over $75,000 in legal fees.”
Judge Robert McBurney eventually dropped the charges and ruled that Esposito’s actions on that day were justified. The judge’s 13-page ruling stated that the K9 was used in self-defense against the suspect.
As expected, the DA appealed the judge’s decision, which will needlessly drag the case on even further.
Esposito has now racked up over $75k in legal fees, all out-of-pocket, and is expected to cost more with the appeal pending. You can donate HERE to support Esposito.
But could an app have prevented Esposito’s entire ordeal?
See It Send It App
Since Esposito’s use of force incident occurred in 2021, a new LEO K9 training tracking app has been developed: the See It Send It App.
The app was designed as a simple and effective way to track all the training and activities of a police K9 to replace sloppy hand-written notes.
K9s go through rigorous training to become certified police K9. Their training continues throughout their tenure to ensure they maintain proper behavior. This is critical from a legal standpoint and how the training is tracked makes a big difference.
Matt Griffin, a veteran police officer who was part of the See It Send It design team, told LET, “What we saw from all the different case laws is that handwritten notes and the discoverability for it from a case law standpoint, from courts and adjudication is just a nightmare. And so we were able to create the canine activity tracker, and so far, it's been a huge success.”
Could the added K9 training and tracking system have helped Esposito out? Could it have been the difference between the DA pursuing these charges are not?
We will never know.
What we do know is that if you’re a police officer and you strongly believe that your use of force was justified, having the most evidence possible would be to your benefit.
Check out the See It Send It K9 Activity Tracker to learn how it can help you. It can prevent you from going through a nightmare scenario like the one Michael Esposito is going through. To support Michael Esposito click HERE to donate to his fundraiser.
To learn more about theapp and its other features visit https://seeitsendit.com/.
-----------------
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
That is exactly what happened to former Police Officer Michael Esposito of the Alpharetta Police Department in Georgia.
In May of 2021, Esposito and other officers were physically struggling to detain an aggressive suspect. After several failed attempts to secure the suspect, Esposito’s K9 was utilized to help gain control by grabbing the suspect’s arm, which led to minor injuries.
As with standard protocol for law enforcement agencies, the department thoroughly reviewed the incident and the use of force. The investigators deemed the use of force as appropriate and cleared all the officers of any wrongdoing.
However, nearly two years after the original incident, an apparent politically motivated DA from Fulton County decided Esposito committed a crime and charged him with multiple offenses; aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and violation of oath of office.
As one would expect, this turned Esposito’s life upside down.
A member of Esposito’s legal team told LET, “We have won on every level starting from the internal affairs review, independent expert assessments of our case, and two separate judicial rulings on the state and federal level showing that Michael did not violate the law or any civil rights. Yet, he and his family have been burdened with over $75,000 in legal fees.”
Judge Robert McBurney eventually dropped the charges and ruled that Esposito’s actions on that day were justified. The judge’s 13-page ruling stated that the K9 was used in self-defense against the suspect.
As expected, the DA appealed the judge’s decision, which will needlessly drag the case on even further.
Esposito has now racked up over $75k in legal fees, all out-of-pocket, and is expected to cost more with the appeal pending. You can donate HERE to support Esposito.
But could an app have prevented Esposito’s entire ordeal?
See It Send It App
Since Esposito’s use of force incident occurred in 2021, a new LEO K9 training tracking app has been developed: the See It Send It App.
The app was designed as a simple and effective way to track all the training and activities of a police K9 to replace sloppy hand-written notes.
K9s go through rigorous training to become certified police K9. Their training continues throughout their tenure to ensure they maintain proper behavior. This is critical from a legal standpoint and how the training is tracked makes a big difference.
Matt Griffin, a veteran police officer who was part of the See It Send It design team, told LET, “What we saw from all the different case laws is that handwritten notes and the discoverability for it from a case law standpoint, from courts and adjudication is just a nightmare. And so we were able to create the canine activity tracker, and so far, it's been a huge success.”
Could the added K9 training and tracking system have helped Esposito out? Could it have been the difference between the DA pursuing these charges are not?
We will never know.
What we do know is that if you’re a police officer and you strongly believe that your use of force was justified, having the most evidence possible would be to your benefit.
Check out the See It Send It K9 Activity Tracker to learn how it can help you. It can prevent you from going through a nightmare scenario like the one Michael Esposito is going through. To support Michael Esposito click HERE to donate to his fundraiser.
To learn more about theapp and its other features visit https://seeitsendit.com/.
-----------------
Writer Eddie Molina is a veteran and has over 25 years of combined LEO/military service. He owns and operates the LEO apparel and accessory company www.BuyHeroStuff.com
For corrections or revisions, click here.
The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
Comments
2024-09-06T19:03-0500 | Comment by: Harry
I wonder if the DA received campaign contributions from George Soros?
2024-09-07T22:23-0500 | Comment by: Cindy
Why is the officer having to pay out-of-pocket costs? Why isn't the department paying? Hope the DA isn't Fanni Willis. she should be disbarred. I SUPPORT THE BLUE!
2024-09-08T05:36-0500 | Comment by: Michelle
In cases like these the DAs should be forced to pay out of their own pockets for malicious prosecution. That would stop all of this law fare against cops.