Defendant Hurls Backpack at Judge, Punches PD in Incident Caught on Tape
A defendant in a Cleveland court on Tuesday hurled his backpack at the judge and punched a public defender before being tackled by a police union president in the courtroom to observe another case.
Fox8.com and Newsnet5.com posted video of the incident. The defendant, June Carson, was sentenced the next day to 30 days in jail for criminal contempt of court. His outburst the day before had occurred when he was in court on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespass.
As the backpack came flying toward her, Judge Marilyn Cassidy ducked behind the bench and pushed a panic button, sending more security officers into the courtroom. The public defender who took a punch, David Eidenmiller, was in court for a different case.
Police union president Steve Loomis was the first to tackle Carson, flying over the counsel’s table as he took him down.
