Emotional day in court for Noel Carter

Right before the defense rested, it was an emotional day in court.  

Noel Carter, 31, took this stand in his own defense.  Carter testified for more than three hours.  He told the jury his ex-girlfriend Joann Espejo invited him to town to go to a concert a Venue 578, the two had been intimate before they went to the club, but got in argument while they were there.

Carter told jurors they went outside to talk, Espejo turned to go back in and that he grabbed her by the elbow. According to Carter, Espejo turned around, they continued to talk until an officer walked up and stepped between the two.  Carter testified that the officer told Carter to go leave. Carter says as he tried to explain Espejo had his keys and things got ugly fast.

As his attorney played the video for the jurors and Carter testified to what he recalled of being grabbed, tackled, pepper sprayed,  tased, hit with a baton, and kicked multiple times.  He cried as he watched the video of police kicking him while he was on the ground. 

Carter said his body felt limp at that point and when asked what he was thinking he replied, “ When is he going to start hitting me again?”

State Attorney Jeff Ashton and the Orlando Police Department have exonerated the officers of any wrong doing in this incident.  Closing arguments in The State of Florida v. Noel Carter start Friday morning at 9 a.m.