Harry A. Byrne Jr.—the Boston Police Department sergeant who allegedly assaulted a Harvard undergraduate after arresting him nearly two years ago—will face a jury on Aug. 25 on the charge of violating the student’s civil rights, according to court documents.

After a series of altercations around the Boston College campus, Byrne arrested Garett D. Trombly ’03 and several of his friends on the night of Sept. 9, 2001. Trombly, then a Harvard junior concentrating in economics, was charged with public consumption of alcohol, resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

Those charges were dropped for lack of evidence about a month later—but an investigation was soon launched into Trombly’s allegation that Byrne had repeatedly struck him in the police station, producing a broken jaw which remained wired shut for almost a month.

In January 2002, a federal grand jury handed down the civil rights indictment—and three counts of witness tampering against other police officers in conjunction with the federal investigation of the case—against Byrne, who is being prosecuted by the office of the U.S. Attorney.

Trombly—who declined comment, deferring questions to his lawyer, Andrew Good, until Byrne’s case goes to trial—is scheduled to testify for the prosecution. Beyond his role as key witness, Trombly’s involvement in the case has been “virtually nil,” according to Good.

The case has taken more than a year and a half to go to trial due to numerous courtroom maneuverings, motions and continuances.

The trial date has been postponed a total of four times, most recently in July of this year.

According to a brief filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office last month, the first continuance was granted on the initial scheduled trial date of September 2002 “at the last moment because of the illness of defense counsel’s wife.” The next delay was caused by the appointment of Byrne’s lawyer, Kenneth Fishman, to a judgeship in December 2002. Byrne remained without counsel—producing yet another postponement while he tried to find a lawyer—until this spring, when he retained Frank A. Libby Jr., who is still his lawyer. Neither Libby nor Fishman could be reached for comment.

Thomas J. Davis—a high-school friend of Trombly’s who was attending Boston College when he was arrested along with Trombly—said he thought this cascade of continuances represented “an effort by the defense to just stall.”

Davis said that he suspects Byrne and his lawyer hoped to postpone the trial to the point that Davis’ and other key witnesses’ memories of the night in question grew dim. This argument was also made in the U.S. Attorney’s failed opposition to the most recent motion for continuance of the trial.

But Davis said he thought such an attempt would have little effect.

“I feel like they’re delaying the inevitable,” he said. “What happened that night will forever have a lasting impression in my mind, and if it’s left a lasting impression in my mind, just imagine what it did to Garett psychologically.”

In Sept. 2001, Davis told The Crimson that he had seen inside the room where the 160-pound Trombly was allegedly attacked by the significantly larger Byrne in the presence of two other officers.

“[The police] left the door wide open,” Davis said at the time. “I thought [Trombly] was going to get booked. I heard the sergeant say, ‘Don’t think I won’t kick your ass. You were a tough guy on the street. Let’s see how tough you are in here.’”

According to Davis, Byrne then threw a punch at Trombly’s face. Davis said that he yelled and the door was subsequently closed.