A Contra Costa County jury was unable to reach a verdict Friday in the felony assault trial of former Richmond Police officer Eric Smith Jr., leading a judge to declare a mistrial.
Smith, 31, was facing charges of assault with a deadly weapon and inflicting great bodily injury stemming from a violent encounter during a traffic stop nearly four years ago. After jurors informed the court they were deadlocked, Judge John W. Kennedy dismissed them.
The case is scheduled to return to court on Feb. 2 to determine if the District Attorney’s Office will seek a new trial or pursue other pre-trial matters.
Details of the 2022 incident
According to official records from the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, the charges against Smith originated from an incident that occurred in Richmond on April 9, 2022, at approximately 1 a.m.
Smith was attempting to conduct a traffic stop and arrest of Saul Mendoza Jr. following a reported car chase. Government filings and police reports detail a confrontation where Smith deployed his Taser in an attempt to subdue the suspect. When the Taser failed to stun Mendoza, prosecutors alleged that Smith used the device as a blunt force weapon, striking Mendoza multiple times.
The assault reportedly caused “great bodily injury” to Mendoza, leaving him bloodied. Body-worn camera footage of the incident, which was a central piece of evidence in the trial, reportedly captured Mendoza saying, “I’m not resisting,” as Smith ordered him to comply before the physical strike occurred.
The Richmond Police Department conducted an internal investigation following the incident and presented the findings to the District Attorney. On Aug. 3, 2022, the same day felony charges were officially filed, the RPD announced that Smith had been terminated from the force.
Smith was specifically charged with assault with a deadly weapon with special allegations of great bodily harm and use of a deadly weapon.
In a report by KRON 4 about four months after the incident, Smith’s lawyer argued that the use of force was reasonable because the suspect was a “violent criminal” who was likely armed with a second weapon after discarding a pistol [01:23]. In contrast, the lawyer for Mendoza contended that the filing of felony charges proves the level of violence used was completely unnecessary and only came to light because of body camera footage [01:40].
