HANFORD, Calif. (KMJ/KFSN) — Our news partner ABC 30 Action news cameras caught the moment Brian Scandura walked into court for his arraignment on Tuesday morning.
Cameras were not allowed inside the Kings County Courthouse, where Scandura pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter following the death of a man during an arrest earlier this year.
Scandura also denied all special allegations.
The defense declined our request to interview, but addressed the court.
“The defense raised an issue that she did not get all of the transcripts or all of the information from the grand jury proceeding. We gave her everything we could, so she received the transcripts,” explains Kings County District Attorney, Sarah Hacker.
Hacker says they are under court order and there are exhibits, which could be video, transcripts, evidence and more, that have been sealed.
Requests for exhibits should go through the court.
“We are going to be making a motion to release only portions of the transcripts. The reason why we don’t want to release the entire transcript is because our concern is that we want to have as much of a fair trial that we can, and that we don’t want to do is overdisclose facts of the case and then have people make a decision before a trial happens. Because if that happens, then we may have to go to another jurisdiction to try this case,” mentions Hacker.
Law enforcement says on January 27, Scandura pulled over Richard Saunders for riding his bike without a light.
Scandura arrested Saunders, and Sheriff Robinson said that during the arrest, Saunders began arguing with the officer.
After being placed in handcuffs and told “numerous times to sit down,” Scandura took Saunders to the ground, where he struck his head.
Saunders lost consciousness and died at the hospital 17 days later.
“To use excessive force in something like that is not something that is taught or preached from the day one of the academy, so there seems to be a lot of unknowns that will probably come out,” says law enforcement expert, Bruce Thomas.
“When we have a case like this, it is deeply important to the community to see justice. I just encourage everyone in the community to trust the court system, allow the evidence to come out as it is intended to come out. Keep an open mind,” Hacker said.
Scandura will be back in court on Tuesday, September 30, for a trial setting conference at the Kings County Courthouse in Hanford.
