PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia judge dismissed all charges against a former police officer accused of assaulting a woman who accidentally drove a sport utility vehicle into a 2020 protest — but prosecutors quickly refiled the case.The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the judge's action Friday came after a police officer who was a witness failed to appear Friday for the aggravated assault trial of 42-year-old Darren Kardos.
The woman wasn't in court either, but prosecutors said they had video evidence to put the case on without her testimony.The municipal court judge agreed to a defense request to dismiss the case while acknowledging that prosecutors were likely to refile the charges — something Assistant District Attorney Lyandra Retacco said was done later in the day.
Kardos was in the courtroom but did not comment.Kardos, a seven-year veteran of the force, was the only officer charged after the October 2020 events that involved scores of officers and occurred hours after the fatal police shooting of 27-year-old Walter Wallace Jr.
Relatives said Wallace, who was Black, was having a mental health crisis and lunged toward police with a knife.Within hours, protests erupted and some in west Philadelphia began burglarizing stores and vandalizing police vehicles.