FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A trial that was supposed to only last a few days is now into its third week inside a Broward County courtroom.
From attorneys getting sick and motions to remove the media, the trial for former Hollywood police officer Matthew Barbieri has dragged on much longer than expected; it will continue again on Wednesday.
The video at the center of Barbieri’s misdemeanor battery trial shows an encounter that happened in August 2019, when Barbieri and other Hollywood police officers responded to a domestic disturbance and found Raymond Schachner naked in his bathroom with drugs, so they handcuffed him and brought him to a hallway.
In surveillance from inside the home, Schachner can be seen yelling at Barbieri as he goes back into the bathroom to collect evidence. Then the video shows Barbieri drag Schachner back into frame before smacking him twice with an open palm.
On Friday, Schachner took the stand to be questioned by the state, but before the defense could cross examine him on Monday, prosecutors made a motion for the media and public be removed from the courtroom.
The motion was dropped after Local 10′s attorney argued against it in court Tuesday.
“The press is a surrogate for the public,” said attorney Karen Kammer. “All proceedings in Florida courts are presumptively open and that has been the case for decades.”
As the state continued trying to build their case, the defense did their best to paint the incident as more minor than the charge implies.
In a twist to this case, the state was unable to get in touch with the victim on Tuesday for him to face that cross examination.
Barbieri could take the stand in his own defense later on in this trial.