Medical Examiner: Korryn Gaines Shot 5 Times In Baltimore Co. Apartment
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ)-- Testimony continued Friday in the trial for a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of Korryn Gaines, who was fatally shot in a standoff with police.
Gaines was killed during an hours-long standoff in 2016 at her Randallstown apartment after pointing a shotgun at officers trying to serve an arrest warrant stemming from a traffic stop that included disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Attorneys for Gaines' family claim officers used excessive force when they fatally shot her and injured her 5-year-old son. They also say Baltimore County police were reckless, irresponsible and violated her rights by illegally entering her apartment.
The all-female jury was seated Tuesday in the civil trial.
"We feel confident--as confident as we always did about our facts that we had to present," said Gaines' family lawyer J. Wyndal Gordon. "I hope all the facts that we presented resonates... with the jury."
Chief medical examiner Dr. Pamela Southall said Gaines' death was ruled a homicide and she was shot five times in the chest, back, arm, wrist and thigh. The injuries were "rapidly fatal" and likely caused her to die from "seconds to minutes."
Major Woodland Wilson of the Baltimore County Police Department oversaw the standoff and said he was immediately notified of Gaines' mental illness, that she skipped her medication and she "inadvertently" pointed her weapon at her son.
Gaines had said to officers: "Put your guns down and I'll put mine down."
Gordon told Major Wilson in court: "You had all that man power and not one person could put their weapon down? You couldn't offer any compromise?"
A Johns Hopkins doctor who worked on Gaines' son, Kodi, said by the grace of God he didn't suffer any nerve damage.
County prosecutors previously found Officer Royce Ruby's shooting legally justified and charges weren't filed.
Gaines' family is seeking $4 million.
The trial will resume on Monday and is expected to last through the week.
Follow @CBSBaltimore on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook
