Woman found innocent of assaulting Saugus cop

LYNN – A Lynn District Court jury found a city woman Tuesday innocent of assaulting a Saugus Police officer, who she testified threw her to the ground while placing her under arrest.?I never expected a lie that big to come from an officer,” Debora Merida said after the verdict, adding her experience with police had been good until the August incident. “I always believed the truth would come out.”The jury of four men and two women deliberated for about two hours.Saugus Police had charged Merida, 32, with pushing officer Matthew Donahue after she stopped to help a friend from church he had pulled over, whom she knew did not speak English.Donahue testified Monday that Merida pushed him from the side, forcing him to “take her to the ground” in fear for his own safety.Merida, who appears much smaller than Donahue, denied pushing him.Merida said she works with Guatemalans who are new to the country and with Lynn Police to educate immigrants on the law, and specifically on driving without a license.She stopped to try and ease the situation for the officer and her friend, she said.?I parked there because I knew he was doing his job, I knew she had no license and that she was going to be arrested,” she told the jury.The mother of two, who also teaches Sunday School, said she just wanted to see if she could watch the woman?s children for her, but became concerned when Donahue began to pull on the woman, who was about 36 weeks pregnant at the time.As she was talking with a tow truck driver, she said, Donahue came from behind and grabbed her.?I felt his whole weight on me,” Merida said Tuesday. “I was in shock.”Merida said her two children watched their mother being arrested from her car, and she is concerned with their feelings about police since then.?I?ve been trying to talk to them about it,” Merida said. “My daughter, she says she hates police.”The children, a 13-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy, wanted to skip school Tuesday because they were worried about the verdict, Merida said, relieved she would be able to give them good news.Merida?s attorney, Michael Cerulli of Lynn, said he hoped everyone would learn from the experience.?This is a case about how police should act toward us, and hopefully some will change their behavior as a result,” he said.Assistant District Attorney Nicole Starrett declined to comment after the jury reached its verdict.Taylor Provost can be reached at [email protected].