Asheville deputy assault trial: Alleged victim begs to not watch video, officer weeps

ASHEVILLE - The second day of an assault trial for a former Buncombe County law enforcement officer was marked by high emotion as the alleged victim begged to leave the court and not watch body camera video, and the former deputy wept when talking about the loss of a job he wanted all his life.

Taking the stand May 11 in Buncombe County Superior Court were ex-Deputy Tyler McDonald who is facing a misdemeanor assault charge that could end his law enforcement career, and Jamie Burleson, an East Asheville resident who said he was still traumatized from the early morning Oct. 5, 2020 encounter with law enforcement at a Tunnel Road gas station.

Both testified they were scared of being hurt or killed in the incident in which McDonald threw punches and he and Deputy Andrew Taylor struggled to handcuff Burleson after what turned out to be a false stolen motor vehicle alert.

At one point, Taylor's hand was pinned on the ground and cut by handcuffs. At another, Burleson who weighed more than each of them, did a "push-up" with both of deputies on top of him.

More trial coverage: Jury views bodycam footage

McDonald said he was 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighed 220 pounds at the time. Burleson said he was 5 feet, 11 inches and weighed 230 pounds. Taylor said he was 6 feet tall. His statement about his weight was inaudible from the public gallery. Deputies said they feared "losing control" of the situation.

Bodycam video showed McDonald striking Burleson in the ribs with a knee after he was handcuffed lying facedown.

During his testimony, Burleson, 47, rocked in his chair and wept, at times shouting at defense attorney Doug Pearson and other times apologizing and asking Judge Robert Ervin if he had to remain in court.

Most of his answers to Pearson's questions were "I don't know" or "I don't remember."

"It makes me sick to my stomach to watch it," he said protesting having to view another video replay.

McDonald, 28, took the stand at the end of the day and talked about how he put in extra time to do his job and focused on recovering stolen vehicles. He said he regretted calling Burleson a "f*****g idiot" and "stupid," as captured on the video. He thought about the arrest "every day," he said.

"It was a dream to become a law enforcement officer and not being able to do that kills me every night," he said through tears.

Assistant District Attorney Jorge Redmond pointed to video that he said showed Burleson complied with almost all of McDonald's commands and noted that Burleson did not strike, kick, spit at or curse the deputies. Instead he tried to tell McDonald that he had already been stopped before because of the same false alert.

That ran counter to statements by defense witness John Combs, a health educator and strength coach at the Army Wellness Center in Fayetteville and former North Carolina Department of Justice trainer, who said the officers "followed protocol" and acted appropriately given the situation.

The defense said deputies were on high alert because of the "felony traffic stop" notification and the recent death of Henderson County Deputy Ryan Hendrix in a traffic stop. They said Burleson reached for Taylor's badge, which had fallen to the ground and had a hard, sharp, long pin that could be used as a weapon and that Burleson pinned Taylor's hand. Burleson said he did not reach for anything and was only concerned with protecting himself from blows.

The trial is set to continue May 12 and will likely also be emotionally charged with an expected cross-examination of McDonald by Redmond.

McDonald has already been tried once on the assault charge and found guilty Feb. 11 by Buncombe County District Court Judge Patricia Young. But he invoked his constitutional right to a jury trial and appealed to Superior Court.

Judge: Buncombe deputy McDonald guilty of assault; kneed man lying handcuffed facedown

Bodycam video has been a central feature of both trials.

The ex-deputy's clean record guarantees he would serve no jail time. But a conviction could end his career. Sheriff Quentin Miller fired him shortly after viewing video of the stop, saying, "No additional internal review was necessary." Miller contacted the State Bureau of Investigation, and District Attorney Todd Williams decided to prosecute based on the results of the SBI probe.

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McDonald was picked for deputy of the year in 2018, according to Pearson. But he was suspended for two days without pay after a family said they were assaulted in 2017 by him and other deputies when they asked for help. The county reached a $167,500 settlement with the family in 2020.

Joel Burgess has lived in WNC for more than 20 years, covering politics, government and other news. He's written award-winning stories on topics ranging from gerrymandering to police use of force. Got a tip? Contact Burgess at jburgess@citizentimes.com, 828-713-1095 or on Twitter @AVLreporter. Please help support this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville deputy assault trial marked by high emotion on second day