Prosecution Rests After One Day Of Testimony In Chelsa Wagner Case
DETROIT, Mich. (KDKA) -- Body camera footage came into focus in the trial of Allegheny County Controller Chelsa Wagner.
She is facing a felony count of assaulting and obstructing police and a misdemeanor of disturbing the peace.
The prosecution rested its case after just one day of testimony.
At issue -- did Chelsa Wagner assault Detroit police or did the police assault her near an elevator at the Westin hotel?
Phone and body cam video may help the jurors decide.
Wagner insists that she was the victim, not the aggressor.
"The whole thing here is that you had an officer, as can be plainly seen on the video, literally grabbing me and throwing me to the floor," Wagner told KDKA political editor Jon Delano before she headed to Detroit.
In a Michigan courtroom on Monday, the prosecution used hotel and police witnesses to set up the altercation that began when Wagner's husband, Khari Mosley, was denied a duplicate card to get into his hotel room.
When Mosley objected, police were called, escorting him to the hotel room where police exchanged words with Wagner before, ultimately, a police officer arrested Mosley and tried to move him into an elevator while Wagner objected.
The prosecution says Wagner blocked the way and put her hands on the officer, while she says she stepped aside before the officer attacked her.
"He messed up but instead of owning up to it, they've covered up. And that's the real problem," says Wagner.
"The only assault that occurred was the assault on me by the officer."
But on the witness stand, Officer Edmund Witcher said Wagner blocked the elevator and "grabbed" him before he pushed her off and she fell to the ground.
Who pushed whom -- that, of course, is up a 12-person jury to decide.
Wagner's attorney sparred a few times with the judge who would not allow pictures of her injuries because they had not been shared with the prosecutor earlier.
The trial resumes Tuesday at 11 a.m. with the defense presenting its case.
Both Chelsa Wagner and her husband are expected to testify.
Khari Mosley was cleared of all misdemeanor charges in July.
Photo of today's courtroom proceedings courtesy of Chris Ivey @hyperboymedia.