Elliot Hughes Accepts a Plea, Can Still Sue for Police Brutality

Posted on March 11, 2010 by denverabc

On Monday, March 8th, 2010, Elliot accepted a plea deal as his trial for two counts of gross misdemeanor assault on an officer and one count of misdemeanor obstructing legal process was about to commence. Elliot fell off his bike following a collision with a St. Paul bike cop during the RNC and was promptly arrested. He was tortured in jail so badly that he was coughing up blood all night long. He was outspoken about the torture he suffered and notified the City of St. Paul last year that he intends to sue for police brutality. Several months later, he was charged in a clear attempt for the cops to justify their actions (this is a common occurrence in the criminal injustice system).

His plea agreement entails having the two gross misdemeanor charges dropped and a plea of guilty being submitted for the misdemeanor obstruction charge. He will need to do 50 hours of community service and pay a $150 fine within the next year, at which point his misdemeanor conviction will be dismissed and vacated. This agreement leaves him open to suing the cops for the torture they inflicted on him.

Elliot’s case was one of the few remaining RNC cases still open except for the RNC 8 (see http://www.rnc8.org for more info).