A Baltimore police officer was acquitted late Friday of assaulting an undercover cop during a sting operation.

Baltimore City Circuit Judge John Themelis found Officer Jerome Hill, 35, of Middle River, not guilty of second-degree assault against Officer John Ferinde of the department’s internal affairs division.

“He’s very happy,” Hill’s attorney, Andrew Alperstein, said. “He’s been exonerated.”

Ferinde testified during an afternoon trial that he was undercover investigating Hill on Jan. 24 after receiving a complaint of “excessive force.” Ferinde said he posed a suspicious person on one of the most violent and drug-infested blocks of the city – Clinton and Noble streets – on the border of the Eastern and Southeastern Districts.

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Hill testified that police received two calls – one for a robbery; the second for a suspicious person – within minutes of each other in “the most violent post in the city.”

Suspecting Ferinde was the wanted robber, Hill said he ordered him:

“Hey cat! Let me see your hands!”

Hill said he became concerned for his safety when Ferinde wouldn’t remove his hand from his pocket, causing Hill to strike the undercover cop, and attempt to handcuff and search him for a weapon. That’s when other internal affairs officers swarmed the scene and arrested Hill, he said.

“The problem was his hand was in his pocket,” Hill said. “… I thought he had a weapon at that point in time.”

Ferinde disputed that account, saying he removed his hand from his pocket, but kept it near his side.

“I was bruised that night and the next day,” Ferinde said of the injury he sustained from Hill’s strike.

Themelis said he acknowledged internals affairs officers serve a “very important” purpose, but that “no vocation is more dangerous and less appreciated than a police officer.”

The judge noted the incident took place in a matter of a seconds and a grainy, green video of the alleged assault was “absolutely no help” in determining a decision about the case.

Baltimore police union president Paul Blair said Hill, who is now assigned to the department’s central records division, should have his suspension lifted.

“If the judge says he’s not guilty, he should return to duty,” Blair said.

lbroadwater@baltimoreexaminer.com