Ex-Miami Gardens cop guilty of battery, trespass but cleared of other charges in police brutality case
MIAMI -- A Miami-Dade jury on Friday found a former Miami Gardens police officer guilty of trespass and battery with a taser but cleared him of five other charges filed against him after he was caught on camera placing his knee on a woman's neck.
Jordy Yanes Martel showed little emotion as the jury verdict was announced Friday afternoon. The jury of four women and two men deliberated for roughly five hours before returning with a verdict.
Martel was fired from the Miami Gardens Police Department about five months after the incident occurred in January 2020.
Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Marisa Tinkler Mendez set sentencing to occur at 9 a.m. on July 19. He could face up to two years in jail following the conviction on the misdemeanor counts.
Martel was working an off-duty security job at Tootsie's Cabaret on 183rd Street in Miami when he encountered a club patron who had been ordered out of the club.
The club customer, identified as Safiya Satchell, had been accused of throwing money at a waitress before being told to leave the establishment.
Authorities have said Satchel was in her vehicle trying to leave the club when she was stopped by security.
Martel ordered the woman to get out of her car before he was accused of forcibly removing the woman from her vehicle, taking her down to the ground and kneeling on her neck.
The former officer used a stun gun, striking her twice on the stomach, officials said at the time.
The victim suffered numerous cuts and bruises as well as abrasions on her stomach from the taser."
The battery count stemmed from the stun gun use and the trespass count was related to reaching inside the woman's vehicle.