Moments after a gray BMW drove in reverse down a one-way street and slammed into his Minneapolis police SUV, officer Efrem Hamilton made what prosecutors deemed a foolhardy decision.
He hopped out and fired a single shot into the BMW's rear panel, narrowly missing one of its occupants.
With his body camera rolling, Hamilton, 43, then holstered his 9-mm Beretta and calmly explained to a responding officer that he'd fired after the other car "backed into me."
Then, turning to the BMW's occupants, he asked: "You didn't see me coming with my lights and stuff?"
Of the officers who responded to a shooting that fall night in 2016, Hamilton was the only one who fired his weapon, assistant Hennepin County attorney Tara Ferguson Lopez told the jury. She suggested that other officers at the scene, three of whom testified in Hennepin County District court Friday, handled the situation better.
Defense attorney Fred Bruno countered that his client was reacting to what he thought was the shooting suspect's vehicle ramming his own. Based on information he'd received from dispatchers, his actions were justified, Bruno argued.
On the trial's third day, jurors watched footage from Hamilton's body-worn and dashboard cameras, which captured the lead-up to the shot. Hamilton stands accused of second-degree assault and two counts of recklessly discharging his weapon, all felonies. If convicted, he could face prison time and would be barred from ever again working as a cop in Minnesota.
Hamilton was working an off-duty job when he responded to the call about a large brawl-turned-shooting near Target Field on Nov. 20, 2016. Dispatchers aired a description of the suspect vehicle as a "gray sedan."
