ORLANDO, Fla. — A local man explained in federal court Wednesday what happened in the moments before and after he was kneed by an Orlando police officer inside a holding cell.
Robert Liese is suing the city over what happened inside the cell, saying the incident nearly caused his death.
A surgeon testified in court that Liese’s internal bleeding was fresh blood that wasn’t clotted, and Liese’s spleen injury was recent when he got the hospital.
Officer Peter Delio’s attorney is trying to convince the jury something else caused the injury which led to Liese's spleen having to be remove.
Liese took the witness stand and told the jury when the 6-foot 4-inch officer used his knee to ram him in the gut, it felt like a wrecking ball.
Before he was kneed, he said he banged his head against the cell to get an officer’s attention and out of anger, after his complaints about Delio kicking him in the pack of a patrol car went ignored.
Liese said he was not resisting and was tensed up because he couldn’t catch his breath after the blow to the gut.
Orlando police Chief John Mina was called to the stand and questioned by Liese's attorney about whether the police department added more training on how to treat handcuffed prisoners after the Delio incident and two others months earlier.
The city Chief Administrative Officer said last year that it brought the FBI in specifically to do that, but Mina dodged the question in court.
Channel 9’s Kathi Belich asked Mina about it later.
“I think the important thing to remember is that former Officer Delio was disciplined for the excessive force and he was terminated,” Mina said.
Delio was fired after 9 Investigates found he ignored Liese's pleas for medical attention for almost two hours.