For more than three weeks, the prosecution has contended that the suspect at the center of a Fresno police brutality trial in federal court spoke only Spanish.
Tuesday, Rolando Celdon's ex-girlfriend, Veronica Rivera, testified that he speaks English "a little bit" and understand it better than he speaks it, and pretends to speak only Spanish when it suits him.
Rivera's testimony for the defense was a blow to the prosecution's case because since the start of the U.S. District Court trial on Jan. 10 prosecutors have contended that Celdon didn't understand the commands of the English-speaking defendants.
Because Celdon wouldn't comply with the officers' commands to surrender, defense lawyers say police were forced to punch and kick Celdon, and shoot him with stun gun and bean-bag shotgun. Celdon also was bitten by a police dog when he ran from police.