SHERWOOD, AR - Police say he resisted arrest forcing an officer to punch him in the face. The entire incident was caught on camera. Now a judge says he is ready to dismiss charges against Chris Erwin.
A FOX16 camera is the only one inside Sherwood District Court today.
Judge Miles Hale deciding whether to keep the case against Chris Erwin, 40, open.
Amateur video captured Erwin last October
being punched in the face by Little Rock Police Lieutenant David Hudson outside Ferneau restaurant.
According to police, Erwin refused to leave a party.
Erwin faces charges of disorderly conduct, trespassing and resisting arrest.
His trial set for today stopped after his attorney Keith Hall says he received a stack of documents related to Hudson's past a few days ago.
“The prosecution for whatever reason withheld those documents from me until the last minute where they wouldn't be useable for our trial date that was set for today," Hall says.
Judge Hale tentatively agreed, dismissing the case yesterday before deciding to reconsider this morning.
Pulaski County deputy prosecutor Will Jones referred our questions about the late arriving documents to his boss.
Pulaski County prosecutor Larry Jegley says he's not going to talk on camera for this case, he's going to let it play out in the courtroom. He added the defense can talk to the media all they want, but he gave those documents over on Friday, a day after a state supreme court ruling. In his words, about as soon as you could expect.
Hall showed FOX16 pages of previously classified LRPD internal affairs documents, that he says shows the arrest caught on camera last October, isn't the only time Lieutenant Hudson has, in his opinion, gone too far.
Fox16 news has learned Hudson voluntarily handed over his internal affairs documents to prosecutors late last week.
Police chief Stuart Thomas has yet to make a decision on whether or not to discipline Hudson for his use of force outside of Ferneau restaurant.
Hale is expected to make a decision whether to reinstate the case against Chris Erwin within a week.
