FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) – It’s time for the trial of a former Broward deputy that was caught on camera getting violent with an inmate as lawyers for both sides gave their opening statements.

The victim in this case, David O’Connell, also testified in court, Wednesday afternoon.

The incident took place back in January 2019 at Broward Health North in Pompano Beach when former deputy Jorge Sobrino was caught on camera punching O’Connell while he was handcuffed to a hospital bed.

Sobrino is being charged with misdemeanor battery, which could land Sobrino a year in jail for if he is convicted.

State prosecutors argued that Sobrino went too far since O’Connell was handcuffed to the bed.

“You will see on video, deputy Sobrino closes the door, they start arguing with one another, he [Sobrino] tells him sit down, he goes over to lift his legs down, he is sitting but he lifts his legs on the bed, and he jabs him, he punches him one time to the left side of his face,” said prosecutor Christopher Killoran.

Sobrino’s defense attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, argued that he was legally able to use force on O’Connell.

“A police officer, and in this case, is allowed to punch a suspect or somebody in custody in the face,” said Schwartzreich. “They’re trained to do it, and whether you like or not, and use of force, it’s not pretty, but it’s lawful. A use of force while not pretty, it’s legal.”

The trail is expected to end within a day or so.

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MIAMI (AP) — Jimmy Butler doesn’t like being a called a scorer.

Never mind that the moniker seems appropriate. He’s averaging nearly 30 points per game in this postseason, has reached the 40-point mark three times in his last 10 games after having zero such regular season games since 2017, and carried the Miami Heat over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals.

But say “scorer” to him, and he will scoff in disdain.

“I’ve been a quote-unquote scorer at other points in my career, and it didn’t work out too well for me,” Butler said.

Things have been working out just fine so far in this postseason for Butler and the top-seeded Heat, who’ll look to take a 2-0 lead in the East title series when they play host to the second-seeded Celtics again on Thursday night. It won’t be easy: The Celtics are 3-0 after losses in these playoffs, winning those bounceback games by an average of 14.7 points and getting two of those victories on the road.

But it remains unclear if they’ll have defensive player of the year Marcus Smart (mid-foot sprain) back for Game 2. The Celtics were also without forward Al Horford (health and safety protocols) for Game 1 — his status seems dubious at best for Game 2 given the NBA’s return-to-play rules — plus said coach Ime Udoka was sick Wednesday with a non-COVID illness.

“We have a lot of confidence,” Celtics center Daniel Theis said Wednesday as his team gathered for a film session.

Game 1 was a 118-107 loss for the Celtics on Tuesday night, though Boston pointed out after the game that the combined scores of the first, second and fourth quarters added up to Celtics 93, Heat 79.

That pesky third quarter, however, counted.

A 39-14 romp by Miami in those 12 minutes — Butler had 17 points in that quarter alone, outscoring the Celtics by himself — turned the whole game around, and the Heat never saw their lead trimmed to less than nine in the final quarter.

“Expect us to play better,” said Boston forward Jayson Tatum, who had six turnovers in that pivotal quarter. “Expect myself to play a lot better.”

In other words, he’s expecting to get to a higher level.

Butler is already there.

He’s averaging 29.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.3 steals in these playoffs on 53.5% shooting. Since the NBA began charting each of those statistics, nobody has finished a postseason averaging so much in each category while shooting that well. And Heat coach Erik Spoelstra has a simple reason why Butler is in this space.

“Heightened attention to detail,” Spoelstra said. “But again, I don’t want to get in a long dissertation about it. If you’re driven by competition, and the stakes get raised, you’re going to raise your level of play. It’s not about trying to get bigger numbers. It’s about doing what’s required. And this level is high level, this competition, and he senses it, and he knows it. He feels it.”

Butler went 17 for 18 from the foul line in Game 1. The only player to make, or take, more free throws in a game against Boston this season was Kevin Durant — who was 18 for 20 for Brooklyn in Game 2 of the first-round series between the Celtics and Nets.

“He’s comfortable,” Boston’s Jaylen Brown said of Butler. “He’s very comfortable right now, and we’ve got to do a better job of breaking that rhythm that he’s in. That’s it. We’ve got to take the challenge.”

Butler’s last 40-point game in the regular season came on Jan. 25, 2017, for Chicago — three franchises and more than five years ago. But he’s had five such games in the playoffs since coming to Miami, the first two coming in the bubble two years ago when he carried the Heat to the NBA Finals. The other three have been in the last month, when he’s carrying the Heat again, despite his insistence that he’s not carrying anyone.

“I don’t care if it’s a big stage or a little stage or who is watching,” Butler said. “I do what I do for my family, for my people, for my organization and for my teammates. That’s it. Doesn’t matter if it’s a big stage, home or away. I know why I do what I do.”

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell sharply in afternoon trading on Wall Street Wednesday, led by led by steep drops in retailers as Target plunged after issuing a grim quarterly earnings report.

The S&P 500 fell 2.9% as of 12:03 p.m. Eastern. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 804 points, or 3.4%, to 31,850 and the Nasdaq fell 3.4%.

Target lost a quarter of its value after reporting earnings that fell far short of analysts’ forecasts, while citing higher costs. The report comes a day after Walmart said its profit took a hit from higher costs. The nation’s largest retailer fell 6.6%, adding to its losses from Tuesday.

The weak reports stoked concerns that persistently rising inflation is putting a tighter squeeze on a wide range of businesses and could cut deeper into their profits.

Retailers had some of the biggest losses. Dollar Tree fell 16.8% and Dollar General slumped 11.3%. Best Buy fell 9.3% and Amazon fell 5.5%. Technology stocks also fell broadly. Apple lost 4.2%.

Makers of household goods and grocery stores also fell sharply. Kroger slipped 5.6% and Procter & Gamble fell 4.4%.

Bond yields fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 2.92% from 2.97% late Tuesday. Utilities held up better than the rest of the market as investors shifted money to investments that are considered less risky.

The disappointing report from Target comes a day after the market cheered an encouraging report from the Commerce Department that showed retail sales rose in April, driven by higher sales of cars, electronics, and more spending at restaurants.

Stocks have been struggling to pull out of a slump over the last six weeks as concerns pile up for investors. Trading has been choppy on a daily basis and any data on retailers and consumers is being closely monitored by investors as they try to determine the impact from inflation and whether it will prompt a slowdown in spending. A bigger-than-expected hit to spending could signal more sluggish economic growth ahead.

The Federal Reserve is trying to temper the impact from the highest inflation in four decades by raising interest rates. On Tuesday, Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a Wall Street Journal conference that the U.S. central bank will “have to consider moving more aggressively” if inflation fails to ease after earlier rate hikes.

Investors are concerned that the central bank could cause a recession if it raises rates too high or too quickly. Worries persist about global growth as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine puts even more pressure on prices for oil and food while lockdowns in China to stem COVID-19 cases worsens supply chain problems.

The United Nations is significantly lowering its forecast for global economic growth this year from 4% to 3.1%. The downgrade is broad-based, which includes the world’s largest economies such as the U.S., China and the European Union.

Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.