The prosecution began with records that had little drama on their face. A city employee confirmed the pavilion reservation and identified the fee receipt. A dispatcher explained how the complaint entered the system and how Mitchell requested assignment to the call. A records specialist authenticated timestamps and logs. The judge allowed the jury to see the documents before hearing the most emotional portions of the case. The sequence helped establish that the original gathering had been lawful and that the officers' response was not compelled by an emergency.
Kesha testified on the second day. She described arriving with a camera to record a child's birthday and explained why she kept filming after the officers began questioning the adults. Her voice shook when she described the cake hitting the ground, but she did not embellish the scene. She identified the original recording, the file information, and the parts visible from her position. When the prosecution played the video, she watched only long enough to confirm what it showed, then kept her eyes on the witness stand.
The defense attorney asked whether she had posted an edited clip online and whether the public attention had benefited her. Kesha said she had posted a shorter clip but preserved the original, which had been provided to investigators. She admitted that strangers followed her account afterward and that journalists had interviewed her. She denied being paid for testimony or inventing actions to increase views. Her response to a final question was quiet enough that the judge asked her to repeat it.
"I wanted people to see what happened," she said. "That doesn't mean I wanted it to happen."
Robert Johnson testified about the missing food and the search of personal belongings. His wife described pulling their children away from the table and seeing a teenager ordered to raise his hands after asking for his wallet. Mrs. Washington appeared later with a cane and refused a chair until the judge kindly told her she was free to sit. She explained how the lieutenant had ordered her to stand despite her difficulty moving. She did not cry or use the opportunity to insult the defendant. She simply described what she heard and saw.
"I have taught children about public service all my life," Mrs. Washington said. "I believed the officers could ask reasonable questions. I did not believe they had the right to destroy what those families brought."
The defense asked whether she had already disliked Mitchell before the birthday. She said she had known of complaints about the lieutenant and had worried about her presence. Then she added that prior opinion did not change where the cake had fallen or who had kicked the chairs. Several jurors looked down at their notes. The prosecutor did not ask another question.
Barnes's testimony was more difficult. He had entered a plea agreement that required truthful cooperation, and the defense reminded the jury of the benefits he hoped to receive. He admitted that he had tipped the food table, mocked parents, and failed to intervene when Mitchell seized the child. He also described conversations in which officers discussed making community gatherings feel unsafe. His testimony could not be accepted uncritically, and the prosecutor acknowledged that. It was valuable insofar as independent recordings and documents supported it.