AUSTIN, Texas — Testimony continued Thursday in the trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor, who shot and killed Michael Ramos back in 2020.
The defense called in three witnesses, two of whom have testified before, and the court watched bodycam video from the deadly shooting.
Thursday started with the defense wanting to play a redacted portion of an interview with Rebeca Garcia, the girlfriend of Ramos, after the shooting took place. At first, the prosecution objected, but the judge allowed the interview to be played without any audio.
The first witness who testified was Sgt. Steven McCormick, a Special Investigations Unit detective who conducted the interview with Garcia. The second witness that testified was Det. Benjamin Hart, who was brought in by the state a few days ago. The court played Hart's bodycam footage from the shooting.
The defense questioned Hart, asking him what he recalled from the moment Ramos started driving forward.
"I didn't know his intentions and I was concerned he may try to either go through us and around us, and I didn't think he could go around us," Hart said.
The state proceeded to cross-examine Hart, asking him to define "suicide by cop" for the jury. It's a term used by officers for incidents where a person forces the police to use deadly force.
That led to the following exchange between Hart and prosecutor Gary Cobb.
"He did not want the police even pointing the guns at him, correct?" Cobb asked.
"What he said, yes, sir. He wanted them down," Hart said.
"So he did not want the guns pointed at him?" Cobb asked.
"Yes, sir," Hart said.
"He expressed fear about being shot by the police?" Cobb asked.
"Yes, sir," Hart said.
"So, for him to go toward the police would have been a route to suicide, wouldn't it?" Cobb asked.
"Potentially, yes, sir," Hart said.
"And it was not an escape route, was it?" Cobb asked.
"Very difficult for him to leave through us," Hart said.
The defense also questioned Hart about Ramos, asking if they knew what his intent was. Hart said no.
Hart did tell the defense that in situations where people are boxed in and on the verge of being apprehended, they can do desperate and reckless actions.
Another witness who testified again was Austin Police Department officer Darrell Cantu-Harkless, who also had his bodycam footage shown in court.
Day 10 of testimony is expected to start Friday morning, with the trial expected to continue next week.