A former Spokane County sheriff’s sergeant who was fired and criminally charged after a violent arrest left a 62-year-old grandfather with multiple serious injuries has been acquitted by a Washington jury, even though bodycam footage showed the confrontation from beginning to end.
Attorney John Bryan, host of the legal YouTube channel The Civil Rights Lawyer, revisited the case of Kevin Hinton and former Sgt. Clay Hilton after Hilton was found not guilty of second-degree assault and falsifying a police report in state court.
Bryan said the verdict was surprising given the video evidence, but he stressed that the case is not over because Hilton still faces separate federal charges tied to the same 2023 incident.
Hinton Had Pulled Over To Sleep
According to Bryan, Hinton was on a road trip in August 2023 after visiting his new granddaughter in Oregon when he became too tired to continue driving.
He pulled into the parking lot at Terrace View Park in Spokane, intending to sleep for a while in his Audi with his pet cockatoo nearby.
Around 11:45 p.m., Hilton approached the vehicle and told Hinton that being inside the park after hours was a crime.
That claim later became a major issue.
Bryan said a subsequent review by police officials determined that Hinton’s presence there was, at most, a civil infraction rather than a criminal offense.
Hinton nevertheless told Hilton he would simply leave and find another place to park.
Instead of allowing that to happen, Hilton demanded identification and told Hinton he was not free to leave.
The interaction quickly became confrontational.
Arrest Leaves Hinton Seriously Injured
Bodycam footage shows Hilton ordering Hinton to face the vehicle and repeatedly telling him to comply.
Hinton objected to the officer’s tone and refused to provide identification, saying he did not believe he had committed a crime.
Within minutes, Hilton pulled him from the vehicle and forced him to the ground.
Hinton can be heard asking why the officer was doing this and pleading with him during the struggle.
Bryan said the encounter left Hinton with eight broken ribs, a punctured lung, a severe concussion, a shoulder injury and damage to his lip.
The article title refers to nine broken ribs, but Bryan’s video repeatedly described eight, so the footage-supported figure is eight.
That distinction matters because the case is serious enough without overstating the injury count.
Hilton Was Fired And Later Charged
Bryan said Hilton was eventually fired from the Spokane Police Department after the incident was investigated.
He was also charged in state court, marking the first time in roughly two decades that a Spokane County sheriff’s deputy had faced criminal charges, according to Bryan’s account.
Because the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office withdrew from the case over a conflict of interest, Yakima County Deputy Prosecutor Joe Brown handled the prosecution.
Hilton went to trial on charges of second-degree assault and falsifying a police report.
He testified in his own defense and argued that the force was necessary to gain compliance and protect himself.
His defense attorney told jurors that Hilton acted within his training and that Hinton’s resistance created a legitimate safety concern.
The jury ultimately acquitted Hilton on both state charges.
Bryan Questions The Atmosphere Around The Trial
Bryan was sharply critical of what he described as the atmosphere inside the courtroom.
He pointed to reports that current and former law enforcement officers attended the trial in support of Hilton and embraced one another after the not-guilty verdict.
Bryan argued that such a visible show of support could have influenced how jurors perceived the case.
He went much further, suggesting that the presence of local officers may have felt intimidating to jurors.
That is Bryan’s interpretation, not a finding by the court, and there is no evidence in the video that jurors said they were actually pressured or afraid.
Still, the optics are difficult to ignore.
When a defendant is a former officer and the gallery is visibly filled with law enforcement colleagues, it can create an appearance that the local system has already chosen a side.
Federal Charges Are Still Pending
Although Hilton was cleared in state court, Bryan said a federal grand jury also indicted him two years after the incident.
The federal case includes a charge of deprivation of rights under color of law and another charge tied to allegedly falsifying records during the investigation.
According to Bryan, the indictment alleges that Hilton punched and kneed Hinton in the head and torso, violating his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure and excessive force.
The federal case also alleges that Hilton later wrote in a police report that he saw knives in Hinton’s vehicle before the arrest.
Bryan disputes that account and says the bodycam footage does not show Hilton seeing a knife before using force.
That allegation may become especially important because it goes beyond whether the physical force itself was justified and instead questions whether the official record was later written to make the encounter appear more dangerous.
Federal Trial Pushed Into 2027
Bryan said Hilton’s federal jury trial had originally been scheduled for October 2026 but was later continued until February 2027.
According to court documents discussed in the video, Hilton’s attorneys wanted additional time to review the state trial transcript and explore arguments involving collateral estoppel and double jeopardy.
Bryan described those efforts as an attempt to use the state acquittal to weaken or potentially end the federal prosecution.
Whether those arguments succeed will be for the federal court to decide.
The state verdict does not automatically erase the federal case, particularly because federal civil-rights charges can involve different legal elements.
The Bigger Question Is Accountability
Bryan said the case fits a broader pattern he has seen in police misconduct cases, where the most troubling issue is not always the initial mistake but how officers and institutions respond afterward.
In his view, Hinton’s encounter began with an unnecessary escalation over something minor, then turned into a violent arrest that left a 62-year-old man badly hurt.
Hilton’s acquittal does not change what the bodycam shows happened physically, but it does mean the state jury was not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the charged crimes were proved.
That difference is important.
An acquittal is not the same as a court declaring that every action shown on the footage was appropriate; it means prosecutors did not meet the criminal burden required for conviction.
For now, Hilton remains free of the state charges, but the federal case continues.
Bryan said he expects the next major battle to focus on whether federal prosecutors can still move forward after the state acquittal, making February 2027 the next major date in a case that has already stretched across several years.
Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
