ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The Latest on the trial of two former police officer charged in the on-duty shooting death of a homeless man in Albuquerque, New Mexico (all times local):
4:15 p.m.
A jury has started deliberating in the case of two former New Mexico police officers charged with second-degree murder in the on-duty shooting death of a homeless man.
The jury got the case Thursday after a special prosecutor and defense attorneys for now-retired Detective Keith Sandy and former Officer Dominique Perez gave closing arguments.
The three-week trial in Albuquerque focused on whether James Boyd was posing a threat or turning away when he was shot and killed in the videotaped incident.
Defense attorneys say the officers were protecting a nearby colleague when Boyd, who was carrying two knives, made a move toward the K-9 handler.
Prosecutors say Boyd was following orders by police to get down on the ground.
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1:55 p.m.
An attorney for a former Albuquerque, New Mexico, police officer on trial in the on-duty killing of a homeless camper says the man wasn’t surrendering before the officer opened fire.
Attorney Luis Robles made his assertion Thursday during his closing argument at the trial of two officers involved in the shooting.
It came after a prosecutor said 38-year-old James Boyd was following police orders to get on the ground at the end of a chaotic 10 seconds in which a K-9 unit approached Boyd and he pulled two knives.
Robles said Boyd was actually falling to the ground because he had just been shot by a detective.
Robles said his client, former SWAT Officer Dominique Perez, decided to shoot when Boyd made a slight movement toward the nearby K-9 handler.
Attorneys have reviewed a police video clip of those moments multiple times over the course of the three-week trial. Both officers are charged with second-degree murder on the 2014 shooting.
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12:55 p.m.
A special prosecutor in the second-degree murder case against two former New Mexico police officers in the on-duty shooting of a homeless camper says the most important evidence is video.
Special prosecutor Randi McGinn said in her closing argument Thursday that the police videos show 38-year-old James Boyd trying to decide whether to fight, flee or follow officers’ orders after a K-9 unit advanced on him, he pulled two knives, and officers yelled for him to get on the ground.
McGinn argued that Boyd chose to get on the ground and the Albuquerque officers still fired at him.
Defense attorneys for now-retired Detective Keith Sandy and former Officer Dominique Perez also will deliver their closing arguments.
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11:40 a.m.
A special prosecutor is making her closing argument in the trial of two former police officers charged in the on-duty shooting death of a homeless man.
Special prosecutor Randi McGinn told jurors Thursday that no one should be above the law.
Defense attorneys will deliver their closings later in the day.
Now-retired Detective Keith Sandy and former Officer Dominique Perez are charged with second-degree murder in the March 2014 death of James Boyd during a standoff at his campsite in the Sandia Mountains.
The three-week trial focused on whether Boyd was posing a threat or turning away when he was shot.
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8:55 a.m.
Attorneys will deliver closing arguments Thursday in the murder trial of two former police officers charged in the on-duty shooting death of a homeless man.
The final statements from a special prosecutor and the attorneys for now-retired Detective Keith Sandy and former Officer Dominique Perez come at the end of a nearly three-week trial. The trial focused on whether James Boyd was posing a threat or turning away when he was shot.
Special prosecutor Randi McGinn also spent much of the trial underscoring the role she says Sandy played in escalating the encounter with Boyd, who suffered from mental illness.
Sandy and Perez are charged with second-degree murder in the March 2014 death of Boyd, who was shot in the arms and back.
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