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Tempers Flare In Courtroom During Korryn Gaines Wrongful Death Trial

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Tensions were high in a Baltimore County courtroom on Friday as the civil trial for Korryn Gaines continued to play out.

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.

There have been significant discrepancies between the trial testimony and depositions from some of the SWAT officers on the front lines of the standoff that left the 23-year-old mother dead.

A verdict is likely days away in the trial as the family seeks $4 million, claiming officers were reckless when they gunned down Gaines.

RELATED: Father Of Korryn Gaines' Child: He Is 'A Shell Of His Former Self'

While the plaintiffs rested their case, the defense came out firing, calling Officer Allen Griffin -- who attempted to serve the warrant -- to the stand. The defense claimed Griffin knocked on the door in plain clothes, but eventually had to kick it in. When he rounded the corner inside, he found Gaines with a shotgun, saying the "barrel was pointed right dead at my chest and face."

Attorneys for the Gaines family claim officers were excessive from the start.

J. Wyndal Gordon, a lawyer for the Gaines family, said to Griffin," Y'all kicked in the door for misdemeanor warrants?"

"Their badges were on the side opposite to the side Korryn Gaines would see. She didn't know who was kicking in her door," he added.

Cpl. John Dowell, another officer who helped serve the warrant, said Gaines kept telling him "That warrant is fraudulent, just go. I just want to eat breakfast with my son and chill."

RELATED:  Testimony: Korryn Gaines' Father Found Out About Death From News Reporter

Officer Andrew Callahan, who entered the apartment after the first shot was fired, says he heard Gaines say, "I have a gun, you have a gun. The only difference between you and me is I'm ready to die, you're not."

The trial has had no shortage of heated confrontations with a plethora of objections.

"A trial is war. It's not going to be pleasant or nice. This is an emotional case," Gordon said.

Callahan is one of those officers whose testimony was questioned Friday. Attorneys for the Gaines family have been far from shy about pointing that out.

Baltimore County prosecutors previously found Officer Royce Ruby's shooting legally justified and did not file criminal charges.

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