A Maryland motorist battled to clear his name for two years after he was accused of killing a police officer.
Kevin Sneed was charged with the attempted murder of a Prince George's County officer. NBC Washington reports a jury exonerated Sneed Wednesday following a two-year legal fight. Two years ago, an officer pulled Sneed over because of a faulty taillight and the officer suspected he was connected to a robbery in the area.
According to The Associated Press, the motorist was accused of having a gun on him — which was later discovered untrue — prompting the officer to take action. The officer proceeded to jump inside of the driver side window where Sneed allegedly speeded off.
A police report from the time said the arresting officer searched the car and found no drugs or weapons. Sneed reportedly was beaten by the officer during the encounter. Since the incident, the victim said he has suffered depression.
After being charged, Sneed was offered a plea deal and his charges were reduced to second-degree assault and disorderly conduct.
“I felt like the system was going to work against me, regardless,” Sneed told NBC Washington.
“When we received this case, we determined the case had merit,” Prince George’s County State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy told NBC Washington. “We thought it was appropriate to prosecute with reduced charges. We respect the jury‘s verdict.”
If he took the deal, he would've receive no jail time, but he refused and continued to proclaim his innocence.
“People are forced to take these plea deals in which oftentimes they are pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit,” the motorist said.
Sneed received help from the Maryland ACLU, Black Lives Matter DC and group Life After Release to get a new defense team. His case went to court for two days and he was ultimately cleared of all charges.
“If you did not do anything wrong, fight for your life,” he said.
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