A man's attorney asked a judge on Tuesday to dismiss charges filed after an incident involving a police officer in Wells Township.

Barry Starcher faces charges of obstructing official business and failure to disclose one's personal information.

During Tuesday's hearing, a judge listened to testimony from the officer involved and saw a video interview of Starcher.

The testimony and statement was presented by assistant prosecutor Jeff Bruzzese with regard to what's been made public about the case so far.

The case drew attention months ago when defense attorney Thomas Watkins spoke to NEWS9 about an incident Christmas night involving Starcher; Starcher's boyfriend, James Coil; and Wells Township Police Officer J.J. Kamerer.

Kamerer took the stand during Tuesday's hearing.

"When I rolled my window down, I asked if everything was OK. They began cussing at me," Kamerer said. "Mr. Coil started to walk away from me and I said, 'Hey stop -- what's going on? Hold on for a minute. Come back here.' And when he came towards me, I said, 'What's going on? What are you guys doing?' And that's when I was shoved."

Starcher's statement to a detective the day after the incident played in court recalls a more heightened reaction from the officer.


Starcher said, "The door flew open. He flew up out of the car and he said, 'You better do what the f*** I tell you to do when I tell you.' And that was what started it. … Then I hear him start to scream. I open my eyes and a car is pushing him forward and then he went flying."

Both the officer and Coil went to the hospital after the incident with severe injuries.

During closing statements, the defense tried to briefly bring up a claim that a possible motive for the officer's stop may have been because of the defendant's sexual orientation.

"That's disgusting for him to say that in this court," Bruzzese said. "There's not even any testimony to that effect, nothing to even suggest that. That's just reprehensible to me for that to even be mentioned and inferred in this case."

Watkins, Starcher's defense attorney, said, "The stop by the officer was to see if they needed help. Once they ascertained that they did not need help, it was beyond his authority to get out of the car and escalate the situation."

Kamerer defended his actions.

"It's almost 10 until 10 p.m. at nighttime. It's Christmas night. There's not a lot of people on the roadways. They're by an interstate by a highway. They're by the on- and off-ramps of state Route 7 near places that have been broken into in the past."

The purpose of Tuesday's hearing was only to rule on the validity of the initial stop. Judge David Scarpone said he is taking time to research the points brought up in the case and expects to have a decision within a few weeks.

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