AUSTIN, Texas — The defense has rested its case, setting the stage for closing arguments in Austin police officer Christopher Taylor's murder trial.
Henry Mowry, who works with a forensic engineering and visualization firm, and David Gilden, a psychology professor at the University of Texas at Austin, were brought in to testify Monday.
Attorneys asked Mowry to reconstruct the incident from Taylor's perspective for the jury to see.
Gilden, a psychology professor who specializes in perception and cognition, said a large part of the prosecution's effort is to prove it was obvious Ramos' car was turning right and there was no reason to fire a rifle in that situation. But Gilden believes that is "misleading" because he said the point of view Taylor had doesn't match up to the video.
"When you look at this videotape, the impression you get is the car is turning," Gilden said. "It's obvious that it's turning. This, obviously, should not have taken place. It's obvious. That's not true – it's not obvious."
The state proceeded to cross-examine Gilden, asking him his take on how the state had presented this case to the jury.
"So, given your limited knowledge about what goes on in criminal cases, you still feel you're qualified to tell this jury that the state has been doing this all wrong?" prosecutor Gary Cobb asked.
"Given the presentation of that optic, I would say just how incredibly cartoonish that was," Gilden said. "It raised severe doubts in my mind about the quality of that presentation."
Closing arguments will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday.