San Diego police officer’s domestic violence trial begins

A badge from an SDPD officer File photo courtesy SDPD Opening statements and witness testimony were delivered Wednesday in the trial of a San Diego police officer charged in a series of alleged domestic violence incidents involving his ex-girlfriend Seth Tate was arrested in March and later charged in five separate incidents that allegedly occurred between Tate and the woman who dated for a scant months Tate had been with the San Diego Police Department for nearly three years and was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the criminal scrutiny Deputy District Attorney Carlos Campbell who described Tate as jealous volatile and erratic throughout their brief relationship informed jurors that Tate kicked the woman on one occasion and on others forcefully grabbed her by the arms leaving bruises He also described another affair in which she and Tate were in an Uber and he allegedly grabbed her by the hair and slammed her head into one of the car s windows The ex-girlfriend was the first witness to testify telling jurors His mood seemed to shift on a dime and that he was frequently jealous when she was around other men Though she recognized his behavior was problematic she disclosed I excused it because he was a cop He s a good guy Campbell also stated the woman was not the first person he had been physically violent with He announced Tate pushed his fiancee while she was on a staircase but the woman was able to catch herself before tumbling down the stairs The prosecutor declared that prompted the woman to at once call their engagement off and contact police But Tate s defense attorney Sean Jones argued that unlike the typical protocol for domestic violence investigations San Diego police did not question Tate to get his side of the story before arresting him When the assertions from Tate s fiancee surfaced that occurrence did not product in prosecution because those investigators questioned Tate as well as his accuser according to the attorney Jones urged jurors to look at both sides and take into account that the greater part of the alleged crimes lacked corroborating bystanders The defense attorney commented the only occurrence in which others were present was the Uber occurrence as a group of the couple s friends were also in the carriage But Jones reported none of the other people could back up the woman s assertions when questioned by investigators The attorney disclosed during countless of the alleged incidents both his client and his ex-girlfriend were physical with one another and often Tate was restraining the woman to prevent her from physically attacking him Tate remains out of custody