THE THIN BLUE LINE
Former officer Eric Smith Jr., 28, faces a felony charge of assault with a deadly weapon with enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury and use of a deadly and dangerous weapon, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said in a Wednesday, Aug. 3, news release.
Smith beat a man with a Taser during a traffic stop at 1 a.m. April 9, leaving him seriously injured, the release said.
His attorney released a statement:
“Eric Smith is a brilliant police officer and a great young man,” his attorney, Harry S. Stern, said in a statement to KRON. “He has taken more guns off the street than the entire department combined thus saving countless lives.”
Richmond is located just north of Berkeley.
