Decatur, wing. – An Alabama judge listened on Tuesday a contradictory testimony about the recently released video of the body chamber that captured the moments that a police officer fatally fired a black man armed outside his home, in a case that highlights the complex legal questions that arise after the police shootings in the states with the laws of “Stand Your Ground” and the property of extended firearms.
Mac Marquette, 25, is accused of murder for fatally shooting Steve Perkins just before 2 in the morning of September 29, 2023, while accompanying a towing truck driver to recover Perkins’s truck in his home in Decatur, Alabama.
The video of the body of the body shown in the Court seems to confirm the testimony of the officers that Perkins pointed to Marquette. But the expert in compliance with the law that investigated the shooting says that Marquette also had the opportunity to potentially avoid a complete violent confrontation.
The judge of the Circuit Court Charles Elliot heard arguments on Tuesday about whether Marquette should be protected from the prosecution by the “Stand Your Ground” law of Alabama, which grants immunity from the prosecution to any person who uses the mortal force while they are in a place that they have the right to be and reasonably believe they are in danger.
Stand Your Ground Laws has proliferated nationwide after Trayvon Martin’s fatal shooting in 2012, generating debate on race, laws of weapons and self -defense. More than 30 states have some form of law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Marquette was one of the three officers who was sent to help Caleb combs after he called the police to inform Perkins for aiming a gun to his chest when Comps tried to recover Perkins’s truck. Comink, who was authorized by Perkins’s creditor to recover the truck, said he wanted to try again but said “he wouldn’t come back alone.”
The three officers were out of view from the main door of Perkins when Comps returned to Perkins’ house with their tow truck, according to the video of the body of the body. Marquette and another officer, Joey Williams, stopped to the side of the house.
The lawyers trusted a visible beam in the video of the body of the body that was thrown by a tactical light linked to the Perkins gun to identify where his weapon was pointed out when he left his house for the second time. When Comps tried again to recover Perkins’s truck, the beam seemed to indicate that Perkins pointed his gun to the combs.
The videos of two of the two of the chambers of the officers’ body show Marquette surrounding the corner to confront Perkins. In seconds, Perkins seems to point the gun to Marquette, who shouted “the police, put on the ground” and fired almost instantly approximately 17 bullets, killing Perkins.
Just before Marquette opened fire, the video of the body of the body seems to show the light of Perkins’ weapon pointing up against his house, far from Marquette. The prosecutors said they indicated that Perkins tried to lift his arms in surrender before being killed.
Judge Elliot did not review the video of the Marquette Body Chamber.
Perkins did not shoot bullets, but his weapon was found with a “depressed trigger”, according to the agent of the state law that investigated the shooting. The agent, Jamie King, said that it is not clear when the trigger was thrown and that the camera was empty.
“That was the most scared I have been,” Marquette said in an interview that gave the investigators immediately after the shooting, according to an audio recording reproduced in the court.
King said the officers had “reasonable beliefs that Perkins was going to use the mortal force” and that they had to make a quick decision. But he also questioned why the officers were there first, and said there were other police tactics that could have avoided the situation completely.
Creditors do not need a judge to authorize the recovery of a vehicle if a person does not pay loans. But Alabama’s law requires a court order if there is a “breach of peace” in the initial attempt to seize the vehicle, and the police are prohibited from helping recovery without the authorization of a judge.
Officer Christopher Mukkadam and Williams testified that they were not helping with recovery, which would violate Alabama’s law, but instead provided a “civil escort” that was routinely made to “maintain peace.”
All witnesses agreed that there was a violation of peace when ComBs initially tried to confiscate Perkins’s truck.
King said the officers “exceeded the scope” of their responsibilities because they did not have a court order to authorize the seizure of the vehicle.
“To maintain peace, it needs the presence of an officer, and the presence of the officers means that an officer had to be visible,” King said.
The audience comes immediately after two years of intense conflict and protest for the death of Perkins in the city of Northern Alabama of approximately 60,000 people.
Perkins’s wife and mother left while playing the video of the camera of the shooting body. More than 100 people filled the courtroom on Tuesday. Some with shirts that said “Back the Blue” sat on the banks behind Marquette. On the other side of the hall, others wore shirts that said “#iamsteveperkins” and sat behind the Perkins family.
Elliot will listen to arguments on both sides on Wednesday. If he denies the immunity of the former officer, Marquette’s trial will begin on April 7.
