MILWAUKEE — Former Milwaukee Police officer Michael Mattioli took the stand on Thursday afternoon in his homicide trial.
"I didn't feel the need to hurt him. I just wanted to hold him down until the police arrived," said Mattioli.
Mattioli faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide in the April 2020 death of Joel Acevedo.
WATCH: Attorney Jonathan LaVoy weighs in on Mattioli taking the stand
Court records show Acevedo was at a party at Mattioli’s home. The following morning, after an argument, Mattioli restrained Acevedo for several minutes and he was unable to breathe, according to prosecutors. Acevedo died six days later in the hospital.
The defense has argued that Acevedo's drug use, as well as a history of medical conditions like chronic asthma, led to his death, not Mattioli's actions.
Mattioli, answering questions from the defense, said the argument started in his bedroom, unexpectedly.
"I woke up because I felt somebody touching me. And I felt somebody rummaging through my pockets," said Mattioli, who claims Acevedo was trying to steal from him.
Acevedo refused to leave the home, and they fought, according to Mattioli. Mattioli said Acevedo pushed him. Another friend at the home, Christopher Peters, said during testimony Tuesday that Acevedo punched him in the face.
"I know what I did. I know I wasn't choking him. I thought he'd be OK. I didn't think there was any way he could be hurt like that," said Mattioli.
Prosecutors asked Mattioli if he was still drunk from the party the night before. Mattioli said yes.
"In this situation, you're an intoxicated man, who's angry, lying on top of a man, and you couldn't give an answer [to police] as to whether he was breathing? You simply didn't know," said District Attorney Paul Tiffen.
"I said I don't know, but handcuff him," said Mattioli. "Only moments earlier we were in a real struggle. And I thought he was perfectly fine. I didn't know he was hurt. I truly didn't know that."
Mattioli said he asked for the cuffs because he still believed Acevedo to be a threat.
Before Mattioli's testimony, the defense called Dr. Jimmie Valentine, a clinical pharmacology and forensic toxicology consultant.
As a clinical pharmacologist, Valentine said he studies drugs and how they affect the human body.
Valentine told the court, based on his review of medical records, that Joel Acevedo had likely consumed a “high” level of cocaine recently before the incident with Michael Mattioli.
The defense asked if ingestion would’ve been sometime within 12-15 hours before Acevedo was admitted to a hospital.
“Yes, I think that would be fair. We don’t know the exact time, but it was certainly a window of use in that ballpark,” said Valentine.
Acevedo had also been drinking and still had a BAC of roughly 0.2 about four hours after he became unconscious, according to Valentine.
Another expert, former Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Jeffrey Jentzen, testified that Acevedo didn't die from being choked. Jentzen left the office in 2008, and at the request of the defense, conducted his own review of Acevedo's death.
"My opinion was that the cause of death was prone restraint cardiac arrest. And manner of death in my opinion was indeterminate," said Jentzen.
On Wednesday, current Milwaukee County Medical Examiner Wieslawa Tlomak said, through her own independent review, she certified the cause of death as homicide.
Previous coverage: Day 3 of trial
By Bruce Harrison, Nov. 8, 2023
Day 3 of the murder trial of former Milwaukee police officer Michael Mattioli continued on Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2023.
The state rested Wednesday, and the court adjourned around 1:30 p.m. Defense will begin calling witnesses Thursday morning.
Mattioli faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide in the April 2020 death of Joel Acevedo.
According to prosecutors, Acevedo was at a party at Mattioli’s home. Court records show Mattioli told police he woke up the next morning, April 19, 2020, and found Acevedo going through his pants pockets.
Then, after an argument, Mattioli restrained Acevedo for several minutes, according to prosecutors. Acevedo died six days later in the hospital.
WATCH: Attorney Jonathan LaVoy weighs in
The state, on Wednesday, first called Milwaukee County Chief Medical Examiner Wieslawa Tlomak to the stand for testimony.
Tlomak said she did not perform the autopsy on Joel Acevedo, but did her own independent review of his death based on reports of the former chief examiner as well as a 911 call and police body-camera video.
District Attorney Paul Tiffen asked Tlomak if she could say, to any degree of medical certainty, whether there was any compression on Mr. Acevedo's neck.
"I think there was compression to Mr. Acevedo's neck, his chest, and upper abdomen," said Tlomak.
Tlomak testified that Acevedo, based on medical records, had been diagnosed with asthma, which "made him more vulnerable."
She also told the court that hospital records showed positive tests from Acevedo's urine for cannabinoids, like marijuana, as well as cocaine and alcohol.
However, Tlomak said, the medical examiner’s office, through its own tests, couldn’t determine when or how much cocaine Acevedo consumed, only that he’d used cocaine.
The defense has said that Acevedo's prior medical history played a role in his death. And that because of his drug use on April 18 or 19th, the defense has indicated, he was erratic, and Mattioli was simply retraining Acevedo until police arrived.
Ultimately, Tlomak said based on her own review, Acevedo died from a brain injury caused by traumatic asphyxia, during a “violent struggle.”
She described traumatic asphyxia as a condition during which a person is unable to breathe or if there is compression of the neck that makes "blood flow to the brain impossible or decreased."
"I would certify it as death as homicide," said Tlomak.
The defense questioned how she could know how much force Mattioli used to restrain Acevedo.
"What the body camera doesn't show you, if those [arm] positions are accurate, is whether Mr. Mattioli is applying any pressure to Mr. Acevedo's neck at that time, true?" said Defense Attorney Craig Powell.
"Based on this video, I cannot tell if there was pressure applied. The only person who could tell, how much pressure was applied, would be Joel Acevedo," said Tlomak.
The state rested after Tlomak's testimony. The court adjourned early for the day, around 1:30 p.m. The defense will call its first witnesses on Thursday.
Day 2 of trial
By Julia Fello, Nov. 7, 2023
A jury heard the first witnesses in the murder trial against former police officer Michael Mattioli on Tuesday.
He's accused of putting Joel Acevedo in a chokehold during a fight.
He died in a hospital six days later.
WATCH: Attorney Jonathan LaVoy weighs in
Day 1 of trial
By Bruce Harrison, Nov. 6, 2023
MILWAUKEE — A jury heard opening statements Monday in the homicide trial of former Milwaukee Police officer Michael Mattioli.
Neither the state nor the defense dispute that there was a fight between Mattioli and Joel Acevedo on the morning of April, 19, 2020. But they disagree on what ultimately caused his death.
Mattioli faces one count of first-degree reckless homicide in death of Acevedo.
According to prosecutors, Acevedo was at a party at Mattioli’s home. Court records show Mattioli told police he woke up the next morning and found Acevedo going through his pants pockets.
Then, after an argument, Mattioli restrained Acevedo for several minutes, according to prosecutors. Acevedo died six days later in the hospital.
"Lack of oxygen to the brain. What caused the lack of oxygen to the brain? Traumatic chest compression. Mr. Mattioli lying on top, preventing Mr. Acevedo from breathing," said District Attorney Paul Tiffen during opening statements.
The defense, in court Monday, said there's far more to the story.
"The evidence is going to show that when he had to act, he did nothing but hold Mr. Acevedo down until help arrived," said Craig Powell, defense attorney.
Powell, in his opening statement, described an erratic Joel Acevedo, saying he'd been up all night doing hard drugs.
And after the trouble started the morning after the party, Powell said, Acevedo punched another friend in the face who'd also stayed the night.
The defense also claims Acevedo had a history of medical issues, including chronic asthma.
"[Mattioli] did not know that, in essence, Mr. Acevedo was a ticking medical time bomb that morning. The tragedy ensued, and here we are today. So, Mr. Acevedo's death was tragic, but it was not a crime," said Powell.
Mattioli appeared in court Monday wearing a black suit. He's been out on bail since April of 2020 after posting $50,000.
Circuit Judge David Swanson began the day with jury selection and a pool of 50 jurors. Swanson asked a range of questions to narrow the pool, including whether jurors knew anyone in the case, knew any witnesses, or came to court with a strong opinion or bias (based on media reports) that would lead them to be impartial.
Eight jurors were dismissed following questions from the judge.
Both the state and defense followed with questions of their own. The state asked jurors if they know anyone who's been the victim of a homicide, or, if anyone has had any experience with law enforcement — good or bad — that would keep them from being fair on a jury panel. No one said their impartiality would be impacted.
The defense also asked about experience with law enforcement — including any traumatic experience — that may impact impartiality. No one among the pool raised their hands.
Later, the state and defense made their strikes and a panel of 14 jurors was selected — nine women and five men.
Mattioli's defense team said they expect the trial to last a week. Mattioli faces 40 years in prison and an additional 20 years supervised release if convicted.
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