A state trooper and two West Haven police officers who were a part of the felony stop of Mubarak Soulemane on Jan. 15, 2020 took the stand in the manslaughter trial of Trooper Brian North on Wednesday.
It was an emotional day in the courtroom for Mubarak Soulemane’s family as they heard sound from footage on the day the 19-year-old was shot and killed.
“Do you recall how many shots you heard?" Inspector General Robert Devlin asked. “I don’t, but it was a lot,” witness Cordell Miller said.
On Wednesday, state prosecutors called to the stand two civilian drivers that were on Campbell Avenue in West Haven when police boxed in Soulemane after a police pursuit.
“When I was looking, but like I said everything happened quickly, I did not see any movement, I did not see the silhouette moving,” witness Jodi Longley said.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Body-worn camera footage shows State Trooper Brian North giving a description to his superiors after he fired several rounds at Soulemane.
“We both have guns out. The guy is kind of out of it, kind of passed out, the West Haven guy breaks the passenger side window,” North said in the footage.
After the window of the stolen car was shattered, West Haven Police Sergeant Jordan Zwickler and State Trooper Joshua Jackson said they saw Soulemane trying to get something near his waistband area.
Local
“I yelled something along the lines of 'He is reaching, he is reaching, he is moving,'” Zwickler said.
Police said Soulemane displayed a knife and North opened fire. During the third day of the trial, prosecutors asked Jackson why the troopers did not try to de-escalate.
“Our primary goal at that point was to remove and restrain and handcuff the driver who just led us on a police pursuit,” Jackson said.
The defense argued the state troopers feared for their lives.
“You couldn’t have had an opportunity to de-escalate because, by your own words, you felt you were in imminent fear or danger because there was a clear path between you and that knife that Soulemane possessed,” defense attorney Frank Riccio said. “Correct,” Jackson said.
State prosecutors said they may rest their case on Thursday. Meanwhile, the defense said they will determine tomorrow if North takes the stand.
