Intent key in former Petaluma officer’s misdemeanor assault trial

Sonoma County jurors in the ongoing misdemeanor assault trial of a former Petaluma police sergeant will need to decide whether he purposely bumped into a woman during a tense encounter with her nearly two years ago.

Lance Novello, a 19-year department veteran, is charged with one count each of assault by an officer and battery. Both are misdemeanor charges.

During closing arguments Thursday, the prosecution and defense each portrayed intent as a key factor in determining culpability.

The jury of three men and nine women were presented with conflicting explanations for Novello’s physical contact with Elizabeth Cole on July 20, 2020.

Adam McBride, a prosecutor with the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office, said Cole had approached a frustrated Novello, who puffed out his chest, stepped forward and bumped her as a show of authority.

“He’s not tripping; he’s stepping. And he’s stepping right into Miss Cole,” McBride said.

Defense Attorney Andrew Ganz, however, maintained Novello accidentally bumped into Cole and said, “People don’t get charged for bumping into one another.”

The series of events began when Cole was involved in a car crash on South McDowell Boulevard in east Petaluma. Her mother picked her up but took Cole to Petaluma Valley Hospital after she vomited, suffered convulsions and rolled her eyes, McBride said.

Cole was later diagnosed with a concussion.

After being discharged, the mother and daughter argued in the hospital parking lot until officers arrived.

Body cam footage was played in court prior to Thursday and showed police confronting Cole, who said she wanted to press charges against her mom for running over her foot and complained hospital staff had dropped her on her head.

A Sonoma County Superior Court judge sealed the footage and it has not been publicly released outside the courtroom.

McBride said officers had calmed Cole and were communicating with her when Novello intervened and told her to “shut your mouth.”

“That elevated the situation. That takes everything that’s been cruising along from a two, to a three, to a six,” McBride told jurors.

Novello refused to give Cole his name and badge number. She retrieved a pen and paper from her vehicle and limped toward the former sergeant when the physical encounter took place.

Ganz acknowledged it was unnecessary for his client to tell Cole to shut up, but he questioned her version of events, said she was rude to other officers and pointed jurors toward her erratic behavior.

“She tried to get her own mother arrested,” he said.

McBride noted that several officers testified during the trial and agreed Novello’s actions were unnecessary. He stressed that Cole was not a suspect, posed no threat to officers and did not warrant a use of force.

Novello was placed on paid administrative leave following the incident. He stayed on leave until retiring Oct. 17, 2020 — two days after the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office filed charges.

The trial had been delayed several times over the past month, partly because of a shuffling of judges overseeing the case. Reasons for the changes have not been disclosed.

Judge Troye Schaffer is currently overseeing the proceedings.

Jurors began their deliberations Thursday afternoon and are expected to continue to deliberate Friday.

If convicted, Novello could face up to a year in jail, a $10,000 fine and the prospect of losing his right to bear arms in California.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi