More Allegations Surface Against Officer Accused Of Killing Marine
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- More troubling accusations against the Baltimore police officer charged with killing a man.
Mike Hellgren has more on what another officer noticed after the shooting.
The prosecution rested Monday afternoon but not before calling a powerful witness.
Tammy Dodge stood just a few feet away from Tyrone Brown as Baltimore City police officer Gahiji Tshamba opened fire on him. She says Brown begged for his life, saying he was a Marine with children and had his hands in the air.
Dodge is a close friend of Brown's sister and testified she was drinking with them and the incident unfolded when they left the bar in Mount Vernon and Brown smacked the buttocks of Tshamba's female companion. She said he apologized for it, but Tshamba confronted him, waving his gun in the air. She remembered Brown's last words: "I got shot," as he fell to the ground.
"It wasn't about poking holes today. It was about an extreme lack of accuracy in her testimony," said defense attorney James Rhodes.
Tshamba's legal team said they planned to call Brown's sister to the stand and questioned why prosecutors didn't include her on their witness list since she was there that night.
"The woman who would be closest to the incident in my estimation and possibly least favorable to the defense," Rhodes said.
A police sergeant took the stand, too and told the judge that Tshamba appeared under the influence of alcohol and was slurring his words.
He also testified the officer asked if the sergeant saw how hot his female friends were but never asked about Brown, whose body was riddled with a dozen bullets. Tests have shown several were fired at close range.
"It is the state's burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this incident happened in a certain way for a certain reason by a certain person," Rhodes said.
Tshamba's lawyers have not revealed whether he will testify in his own defense.
The defense will start presenting their case Tuesday morning.
The officer faces life in prison if he is convicted of first-degree murder.
