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MIAMI -- A judge dropped charges
Tuesday in the first trial related to a demonstrator arrested during
November's Free Trade Area of the Americas meetings after a police
officer failed to show up and testify.
County Court Judge Rosa Figarola
dropped the misdemeanor charges against Ernesto Longo after one of the
two subpoenaed police officers failed to appear, but said prosecutors
could refile the charges.
Longo, 34, of Hollywood, was arrested
Nov. 21 by Miami-Dade County police officers on charges of failure to
obey a lawful police order and refusal to disperse. If convicted, he
could have been sentenced to a maximum of 60 days in jail, six months
probation and $500 fine. The summit sparked several days of
anti-globalization marches and protests and resulted in 231 arrests.
Longo declined to comment Tuesday.
State Attorney's Office spokesman
Edward Griffith said prosecutors haven't decided whether to refile the
charges. ``We are reviewing what our next actions should be and what appropriate steps to take,'' he said.
Prosecutor Bart Armstrong asked the
judge to reschedule the trial after Miami-Dade Lt. Jeffrey Schmidlinger,
who had issued an order for protesters to disperse, failed to appear in
court. Officer Christopher Moon, who had arrested Longo, came to the
courtroom.
The judge refused.
A police spokesman said a supervisor
had told Schmidlinger he had been given a standby subpoena and wasn't
told to be at court. Griffith said the officer had been told to appear.
Longo, a law student and observer for
the National Lawyers Guild, was with about 100 demonstrators in a
designated protest area. According to Moon's arrest report, Schmidlinger
ordered the demonstrators to disperse after people threw rocks at the
officers and shouted obscenities at them. Moon said Longo refused to
move. He first lay down, then tried to flee on foot and was arrested.
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