MoCo Cop Won't Seek Plea Deal In Excessive Force Case: Report

SILVER SPRING, MD — A Montgomery County police officer purportedly shown in a video using a racial slur and shoving a knee into the face of a man in custody — which prompted complaints that excessive force was used in the drug arrest — won't be seeking a plea deal, according to WTOP.

Officer Kevin Moris, 32, was charged by the Montgomery County State's Attorney with second-degree assault and misconduct in office over the summer.

The events that led to criminal charges against Moris began on July 3 when undercover police officers investigated Arnaldo Pesoa, 19, of Silver Spring, who was allegedly selling psilocybin mushrooms in the Aspen Hill area. Plainclothes officers located Pesoa inside a McDonald's at 13701 Connecticut Ave., and attempted to arrest him for the attempted distribution of a controlled dangerous substance. Police say Pesoa resisted arrest both inside and outside the restaurant.

Video of the incident, which went viral on social media, appears to show Moris using excessive force while Pesoa was lying facedown on the sidewalk, handcuffed.

In Montgomery County Circuit Court on Thursday, defense attorney Morgan Leigh said Moris doesn't intend to settle the case before his five-day trial begins on Dec. 9, WTOP reports.

"There is definitely going to be a trial," Leigh said. "There's not going to be a resolution."