VANCOUVER, Wash. — Vancouver police officer Andrea Mendoza stood trial for a second day in Clark County court and testified in her own defense.
Mendoza is accused of fourth-degree assault, which is a misdemeanor, for threatening to tase a shoplifting suspect in the genitals during an arrest in May 2023.
Elijah Guffey-Prejean is the suspect Mendoza is accused of assaulting. At the time, he was 19 years old. Now 20, and in custody on unrelated charges, he was transported to the courthouse to testify to what happened during the incident.
Guffey-Prejean admitted to shoplifting from Walmart the day Mendoza was called to the scene.
"I just took some candy bars," he told the prosecuting attorney, Lauren Boyd.
Theft of those candy bars triggered a 911 call from a Walmart employee, which led to Guffey-Prejean's fight with Mendoza and eventual arrest.
The struggle was recorded on body camera footage from both officers who were attempting to arrest Guffey-Prejean. The incident can also be seen on video captured by a Walmart security camera.
Mendoza can be heard on video threatening to tase Guffey-Prejean, saying, "I'll do it in your nuts." While on the stand, he said Mendoza pulled his pants down and held the taser against his genitals.
Under cross examination, Mendoza's defense quickly pointed out Guffey-Prejean was resisting arrest. He agreed.
"You would have run away if you could?" defense attorney John Terry asked.
"Yes," Guffey-Prejean responded, saying he was trying to stand up.
Later in the day when Mendoza testified, her defense focused on the fact that Guffey-Prejean was resisting and fought with Mendoza.
"My intention was to stop the fight," Mendoza said. "It was going on long enough, to control the situation."
Her defense added that officers are permitted to use force when necessary, but prosecutors challenged that this incident was unlawful.
"You've never been trained to expose genitals as part of arresting somebody, correct?" Boyd asked.
Mendoza agreed.
The trial will resume Monday morning, and both sides are expected to deliver closing arguments before the jury deliberates.