FAYETTEVILLE — When Fayetteville police officer Tiffney Lindley responded to a report of a drunken and disorderly man at a restaurant earlier this year, she was hoping it would end with the man getting a sober ride home.
Instead, a four-person brawl broke out. Lindley was beaten with her own baton. The man who struck her, 35-year-old Hiram Graham, was taken to jail and charged with attempted capital murder. He could spend the rest of his life in prison.
A video camera in the International House of Pancakes on Wedington Avenue, and a microphone Lindley was wearing captured the incident in the early morning hours of Feb. 23. But whether or not Graham’s actions reached the level of attempted murder will be up to a jury of 12 women and one man, including one alternate, who began hearing testimony Wednesday.
Graham’s attorney, Ronald Davis Jr. of Little Rock, portrayed Graham as the victim of police brutality.
“There’s a question of if the officers were going too far and if they were justified in using force,” Davis told the jury in his opening statements.
Dave Bercaw, deputy prosecutor, said Graham used the baton to strike Lindley on the head twice and a third hit could have been fatal.
Dr. Justin Phillips, the emergency room doctor who treated Lindley after the incident, said the gash on her head left her skull exposed. It took 11 staples to close the wound and another nine stitches to treat a cut on her chin.
On the stand for more than an hour Wednesday, Lindley described the series of events that lead to the brawl at the restaurant’s front entrance.
Graham had been eating with his brother JoeMo, 33, when he threw up underneath a table at the restaurant. A server gave the elder Graham napkins to clean up the mess, though he made no effort to do so, and the police were called.
Lindley and Sgt. Chris Moad, having completed a traffic stop nearby, were called to the restaurant and asked the brothers for identification.
Graham said he didn’t have any ID and told the officers they should get a warrant for the person they were looking for. The officers asked the brothers to put down their food and leave the restaurant.
Lindley described Graham’s demeanor as “aggressive” and “confrontational” as he approached Moad. The two men stood face-to-face, just about an inch apart.
On the recording of the incident, Moad can be heard telling Graham to “get up out of my grill” or go to jail.
“I think I probably said some things I wish I could take back,” Moad told jurors.
That’s when Moad attempted to handcuff Graham. Graham used what Lindley described as “passive resistance,” refusing to put his hands behind his back.
Despite pulling his arms away, Graham repeatedly told the officers he either didn’t understand them or was complying with their commands. As the officers pushed him toward a bench at the front of the restaurant, he said he was going to get an attorney and asked his brother to record what was happening on his phone.
Lindley attempted to use her stun gun on Graham with no effect. That’s when his younger brother, JoeMo Graham got involved. Grabbing Moad, JoeMo was able to straddle the officer and punch him several times.
At that point, Hiram Graham was on top of Lindley. He punched her on the face several times. She responded by grabbing the baton at her side, and striking him in the legs with the weapon several times before he grabbed it from her.
“He just overpowered me,” Lindley said. “He took it from me and then he started hitting me everywhere.”
The fight was broken up by Jennifer Cuffie, a 25-year-old who was at the restaurant with several friends. Cuffie did not initially witness the fight, but she heard it. She followed a friend who wanted to see what was going on with the intent of pulling her friend away, but then got what she called a “split second of courage.”
Cuffie grabbed JoeMo Graham by the shoulders, pulling him off Moad. She then pushed Hiram Graham off Lindley just as he raised the baton over his head for another strike.
“I believe that whenever you see something happening and can help in some way, you should help,” Cuffie said.
Hiram Graham reportedly threatened to beat Cuffie with the baton as well, but the brothers made no more aggressive motions as Lindley got to her feet, pulled out her gun and threatened to shoot Hiram Graham. Lindley said she didn’t pull the trigger because Cuffie stood between the two of them.
JoeMoe Graham pleaded guilty to second-degree battery and hindering apprehension in August. He is now serving a six-year sentence.
Testimony in the trial will resume this morning.