3 witnesses testify in lawsuit against ex-Little Rock police officer who fatally shot teen

As the third trial against the former Little Rock police officer who killed a 15-year-old car burglary suspect started to unfold Tuesday, the presiding federal judge raised the stakes for the outcome.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller said during a break for jurors that if the slain teenager's mother wins the civil trial, the city and the Police Department's former chief, Stuart Thomas -- parties Miller dismissed from the lawsuit against former officer Joshua Hastings in January -- could again find themselves defendants in wrongful-death civil action.

"They might have a chance to go against the city and the chief," Miller said of plaintiff Sylvia Perkins, who named both alongside Hastings when she filed suit in 2015.

Perkins, mother of Bobby Moore III, seeks compensatory and punitive damages from Hastings, who was investigating car break-ins at a Little Rock apartment complex Aug. 12, 2012, when he shot and killed Moore while Moore and two other teenagers were in a moving car.

Hastings was fired after the shooting and was twice tried criminally on a manslaughter charge. Prosecutors dropped the case after neither jury reached a unanimous decision.

The civil case's jury of six men and six women was seated Monday afternoon.

Three witnesses testified Tuesday after opening statements. The witnesses were a police lieutenant who advised department leaders not to hire Hastings in 2007, a former homicide detective who was the case's lead investigator, and a former resident of the apartment complex who was awakened by gunfire on the morning of the shooting.

Hastings, seated at the defense table, was dressed in slacks and a sports coat. He was mostly silent, even when informally addressed. When Miller asked during a break whether the table's water pitcher was filled, Hastings responded by lifting his personal bottle of water to show the judge rather than tell him.

Hastings told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that he would not comment during the trial but would probably speak to reporters after it concludes, no matter the outcome.

Miller's comments about what impact the lawsuit could have on the city and former chief Thomas came during a discussion about whether Perkins' attorney, Mike Laux, could ask leading questions of the witnesses he called.

Laux argued that more than one of his witnesses worked for the city, which meant their interests were not aligned with the plaintiff's. If a judge deems a witness to be "adverse" or "hostile," an attorney is allowed to steer them to answers rather than adhere to the general rule of only open-ended questions.

Addressing attorneys from the bench, Miller described the trial as "bifurcated," which is legal jargon for dividing the case into two parts so that a narrower question can be determined first.

At the heart of the issues debated Tuesday was whether Hastings could have avoided firing into the moving Honda Civic driven by Moore, who was shot on his middle finger and in his left temple. The parties do not agree on the direction the Civic was traveling -- forward or reverse -- or its speed.

In statements to Little Rock Police Department investigators, Hastings said he was standing near a Dumpster with rocks at his back. Photographs introduced as evidence showed the rocks were on a small embankment.

The car was found more than 100 feet away from the embankment, its front end facing that way and its rear end resting against a 2012 Chevrolet Camaro, witnesses testified.

During the plaintiff's opening statement, attorney Austin Porter argued that Hastings was a "rogue cop" who at best stepped in front of the moving vehicle and at worst fired into a car that was backing away.

Hastings' attorney, Keith Wren, argued that Hastings made a split-second decision as the Honda moved toward him before it struck the rocky embankment. To illustrate how quickly Hastings had to decide what to do, Wren lifted a poster board with a photograph of a car above his head and sprinted across the room toward the jurors' box.

Lt. Johnny Gilbert Jr., a 32-year department veteran who once oversaw the hiring of police recruits, testified that he recommended the department not hire Hastings after the recruit disclosed during the hiring process that he once attended a Ku Klux Klan meeting.

Hastings, who is white, has said he attended the meeting with a friend while a junior in high school out of curiosity. Moore was black.

Sgt. Dewana Phillips, a former homicide detective who was the case's lead investigator, while reviewing a report she wrote at the time, testified that the gearshift "appeared to be in reverse" when she arrived to the scene after the shooting.

Crime-scene photographs, which were not taken by Phillips, showed the gearshift in neutral, she testified, adding that she couldn't be certain that the gearshift was in reverse when she arrived. The photos showed Moore in the driver's seat, slumped over the center console.

Phillips, whom Miller deemed an "adverse witness," testified that scratches on the Honda's tow hooks did not appear consistent with Hastings' account that the car struck the rocky embankment. Wren sought to frame the markings as "fresh" when contrasted with nearby rust on the car's underside.

Phillips testified that investigators questioned Hastings on three occasions -- once on the day of the shooting and twice two days later. She said that number of interviews is "uncommon" for officer-involved shootings.

Hastings, who had an attorney present at each of the interviews, agreed to the questioning because he had nothing to hide, Wren said.

Like the Honda's position, Hastings' position at the time of the shooting is not agreed upon.

Donnesha McCuien testified that she lived at the Shadow Lake apartment complex at the time of the shooting. She said gunfire awakened her. Shots were reported fired about 5:30 a.m. Phillips previously testified that she scrambled to peer through her blinds.

The window was near her Camaro -- the car ultimately struck by the Honda's rear end -- but as McCuien went to look through it, a police officer ordered her to "get down," she testified.

McCuien walked back the testimony seconds later when she testified that she did not know the person's race or see a uniform.

"I assumed it was a police officer," McCuien said.

A woman sitting in the front row of the juror's box jerked her head in surprise.

Miller also ruled Tuesday while outside of jurors' earshot that Wren could introduce as evidence that a gun was found inside the Honda after the shooting. Miller said that although Hastings was unaware at the time of the shooting that a gun was in the vehicle, he would allow it to be introduced because jurors may find insight into the teenagers' frame of mind.

Wren indicated he would introduce the gun by calling one of the teenagers in the car at the time, Jeremiah Johnson, whom Wren said is currently incarcerated at the Pulaski County jail. Jail records show Johnson is charged with breaking or entering and theft by receiving, among other charges.

At one point Tuesday afternoon, as Laux and Wren passed Phillips back and forth to continue questioning whether the Honda showed enough front-end damage -- and whether the rocks in question bore marks that they were hit -- Wren asked the investigator whether she received specialized training in rocks and car damage.

She did not, she said.

To try to determine how much the car could have been damaged by rolling over the rocks, police obtained a demonstration car of the same year and model and parked it next to the embankment. A photo showed that the rocks were close to the front bumper, but Phillips said investigators did not actually drive the car over the rocks to see what would happen.

"Everybody's just guessing, right?" Wren asked Phillips.

"Yes," she responded.

The trial is to resume between 9:15 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. today, Miller said.

State Desk on 04/05/2017