The court vacated José Cartagena's conviction for allegedly pistol-whipping 17-year-old Calep Carvajal during a November 2014 arrest while affirming three other convictions. Writing for a unanimous panel, Circuit Judge Hamilton held that the government improperly allowed Dr. Yocasta Brugal to testify about statements Carvajal made during a medical examination.
"Critical here, Dr. Brugal testified that Carvajal told her the cause of his head wound," Hamilton wrote, noting that she relayed to the jury that Carvajal said "he received a trauma on his head that he identified had been produced by the butt of a revolver." Carvajal never testified at trial because prosecutors were unable to locate him.
The case arose when four officers from a Puerto Rico drug unit allegedly assaulted Carvajal during and after taking him into custody. According to the court's recitation of facts, Officer Nieves shot Carvajal in the back as he fled on a bicycle, and Cartagena then tackled him, handcuffed him, and allegedly pistol-whipped him in the back of the head while he lay on the ground unarmed.
Hamilton rejected the government's argument that Carvajal's statement was merely offered for "context" rather than for its truth. "Carvajal's statement could have helped the jury evaluate Dr. Brugal's opinions only if it were true," the court explained.
The panel found the error was not harmless because Dr. Brugal was "easily the most trustworthy witness who testified against Cartagena" on the pistol-whipping charge. The court noted that the longtime medical school dean had handled over fifteen thousand forensic cases while other government witnesses had serious credibility problems.
The court affirmed Cartagena's convictions for punching Carvajal in the squad car, filing a false police report, and obstructing justice by lying to prosecutors. Three other officers had pleaded guilty, but Cartagena went to trial and was convicted on all four counts.