A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after jurors announced they were deadlocked in the trial of a former Long Beach Unified School District safety officer…
A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday after jurors announced they were deadlocked in the trial of a former Long Beach Unified School District safety officer
A prosecutor told the jury last Friday that Gonzalez tried to"play police officer'' and made a series of bad decisions that led to the fatal shooting -- while the defendant's attorney argued that his client acted in self-defense out of fear he was going to be run over by the car in which the woman was a passenger.
Gonzalez had moved out of the way of the vehicle and was"not in danger at all'' of being struck by the vehicle when he fired the first shot, and"did not act in lawful self-defense,'' according to the deputy district attorney, who told jurors that Gonzalez was"trying to kill the driver of that vehicle.''
Defense attorney Michael Schwartz urged jurors to acquit Gonzalez, telling the panel that ``true justice'' demands such a verdict. Schwartz said his client shot to ``stop the threat of deadly force,'' noting that two witnesses called by the defense testified that they believed Gonzalez was in danger of being struck by the vehicle if he had not moved out of the way. He said it doesn't mean his client is guilty of anything if the"threat changed positions" before Gonzalez fired the shots.
Gonzalez -- who is free on bond -- did not testify in his own defense. He was fired by the school district a week after the shooting.
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