Welcome To aBlackWeb

Register

Ex-Michigan trooper to claim self-defense in ATV death of a black teenager...

StringerBell

StringerBell

OG
https://www.freep.com/story/news/in...-trooper-taser-death-mark-bessner/1018667002/

Ex-Michigan trooper Mark Bessner to claim self-defense in ATV death

Police video shows former trooper Mark Bessner using his Taser in Detroit. Bessner is charged in the death of ATV-rider Damon Grimes. Brian Kaufman, Detroit Free Press

Former Michigan State Police trooper Mark Bessner is claiming self-defense for firing a Taser at an ATV-riding teenager, who crashed and died after being hit.

In court pleadings filed by his lawyers, Bessner said he saw 15-year-old Damon Grimes “reach for the vicinity of his waistband," as he fled police last August on Rossini Drive near Gratiot Avenue on Detroit's east side.

“Defendant Bessner’s defense is that his actions were those of a reasonable police officer confronting a set of circumstances that caused him to discharge his Taser in defense of his own life and innocent bystanders or motorists in the vicinity of Gratiot Ave. and the neighborhood community,” his attorneys wrote in a court filing.

Prosecutors discount the claim, noting in court documents that Bessner never mentioned self-defense in accounts shared with coworkers shortly after the crash. Prosecutors say Bessner used his Taser to punish Grimes, and others who had opposed him in earlier situations.

Bessner faces trial Oct. 22 on charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. He resigned his job amid the criminal probe into Grimes' death.

A hearing is scheduled for Friday as both sides wrangle over whether certain pieces of evidence can go before jurors.

Richard Krisciunas, former chief of the trial division of the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office and now a professor at University of Detroit Mercy School of Law, said Bessner's self-defense claim may be difficult to prove.

“One argument the defense might argue is that he merely tased him as opposed to shooting him and he never thought it would result in his death," Krisciunas said. "For murder, you require an intent to kill or consciously create a high degree of risk of death as a consequence (of) your conduct. Tasing someone going 35 mph on an ATV could be argued to create a high degree of risk of death.”
Click to expand...
 
Why is it American cops are the only ones that don't know how to use proper judgment when it comes to their weapons?
 
Sam Crooke said:
Why is it American cops are the only ones that don't know how to use proper judgment when it comes to their weapons?
Click to expand...

They have proper judgment. I believe your question has some sarcasm in it as well. Your question is like asking why the star basketball player who has the ultimate green light. Why he shoots so much no matter how good or bad his shot selection is. The police and the ball player do it just because they can and will get away with doing it basically no matter what.
 
If these motherfuckers get charged and did hard time every time they do this fuck shit, things like this would decrease. But as long as they get away with it or is getting a slap on the wrist things won’t change. And this is why Kap kneels...
 
DMorgan said:
They have proper judgment. I believe your question has some sarcasm in it as well. Your question is like asking why the star basketball player who has the ultimate green light. Why he shoots so much no matter how good or bad his shot selection is. The police and the ball player do it just because they can and will get away with doing it basically no matter what.
Click to expand...


Basketball is all you know huh?
 
https://www.freep.com/story/news/lo...31/detroit-atv-taser-mark-bessner/1835105002/

Mistrial for ex-MSP trooper accused of murder in Detroit ATV death

Over 25 hours of video and audio detail an ATV crash in Detroit involving 15-year-old Damon Grimes, who was allegedly tased by Michigan State Police trooper Mark Bessner during a chase in August of 2017.

A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday after jurors failed to reach a verdict in the murder trial of a former Michigan State Police trooper who used a stun gun on a Detroit teenager before the teen was killed in an all-terrain vehicle crash.

Mark Bessner shot Damon Grimes with a Taser from a moving patrol car in August 2017. Bessner, who is white, told jurors that he feared the 15-year-old had a gun, but he was wrong. Grimes, who was black, crashed the ATV into a pickup truck and died.

The 44-year-old Bessner, who resigned from the force after Grimes' death, was charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Jurors saw state police video of the high-speed chase, but they couldn't reach a unanimous decision to convict or acquit.

The jury's struggle first was disclosed before lunch Tuesday. Judge Margaret Van Houten told them to keep working but then stopped deliberations after no progress was reported.

Prosecutors can put Bessner on trial again.

In his closing argument, defense attorney Richard Convertino warned jurors against convicting Bessner out of sympathy for the victim.

"My greatest fear ... is that you'll believe that because a life was lost you need to make it right somehow, you need to fix it, someone needs to pay," Convertino said. "Maybe so, but not in this courtroom. This is a criminal courtroom. You just can't do that."

Bessner said he saw Grimes move his left hand to his waist, a signal to the officer that he likely had a gun. But prosecution witnesses said they didn't see it.

Convertino said police must make "split-second judgments" in tense situations.

"If his belief was honest and reasonable, he could act immediately to defend himself even if it turned out later that he was wrong," Convertino said of Bessner.

Assistant prosecutor Matthew Penney said nothing justified the use of a Taser, an electronic device that immobilizes the target. He told jurors that Grimes was committing a routine traffic offense by riding an ATV on a city street. Police records indicate Bessner had a history of questionable Taser use , but the judge kept that out of the trial.

Penney reminded jurors that Bessner didn't seem overwhelmed when he told a dispatcher that he used his Taser and Grimes had crashed. The audio was played during the trial.

"'You want burgers for dinner tonight?' That's the tone of voice he's using. Not someone who escaped death," Penney said.
Click to expand...

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...gan-state-trooper-trial-atv-death/1813186002/

Ex-trooper's trial in ATV death ends with hung jury

A mistrial was declared Wednesday after a jury deadlocked in the case of a former MSP trooper charged with causing the crash death of a teenage ATV rider by Tasing him during a pursuit.

The jury of six men and six women reported Wednesday afternoon it could not agree on a verdict in the case against Mark Bessner, leading Judge Margaret Van Houten to declare the mistrial.

"I know this has been a grueling week and a half ..," Van Houten told the jury. "We appreciate your efforts in trying to reach a decision."

The jury sent a note to the judge Wednesday saying, "We have exhausted all conversations and viewed videos and reviewed the written material and still have a hung jury."

She scheduled a pretrial hearing for 11 a.m. Wednesday in Wayne County Circuit Court, when a new trial date is expected to be set.

Jurors had tried for three days to decide whether to acquit or convict Bessner, 44, of second-degree murder or involuntary manslaughter in the death of 15-year-old Damon Grimes on Aug. 26, 2017.

Grimes family members refused to comment Wednesday but were clearly upset over the jury's inability to render a verdict.

A spokesman, Oliver Gantt, said the family is disappointed but looks forward to a new trial, saying he is hoping for a "better" jury that will "see the evidence for what it is" and deliver a "just" verdict.

"It's not over," said Gantt. "I think they should take it as far as they should go. They should have a retrial 'cause justice has not been served in this matter. This is another matter where we have people seeing or thinking that police always get off when things occur to young black men and we don't want to see that happen again."

Bessner's attorney, Richard Convertino, said his client is "temporarily relieved."

"It is a temporary condition because we're going to have a retrial in this case," he said.

"It weighs heavily on my mind personally," the defense attorney said, , expressing sympathy for Grimes’ family. "This family doesn't have peace and a conclusion and this is still up in the air for them, which is a horrible thought. I feel for that family greatly."

Convertino said while the jury "deliberated hard" he believes jurors "had difficulty wading through the evidence" but added that "the jury was absolutely diligent" in doing its job.

Convertino said he expects the new trial will be scheduled for spring. He said Bessner remains under a lot of stress.

"He can't plan for the future," the attorney said. "This is still over his head."

Convertino said he will ask the judge to have the tether Bessner is wearing removed while the former state trooper awaits a new trial.

Grimes was driving an ATV when Bessner and his partner gave chase in the area of Rossini and Gratiot. Bessner Tased the teen and seconds later Grimes crashed into a parked pickup on Rossini around 5:30 p.m.

Bessner testified last week that he deployed his Taser because he believed his life and that of his partner, who refused to testify during the trial, was in danger. The former trooper also said he saw Grimes reaching his left hand toward his waistband.

Several witnesses testified before Bessner's testimony that they did not see Grimes' hands leave the handlebars of the ATV that day.

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Matthew Penney said during his closing arguments Monday there was no justification for the Taser to be deployed. He said the four witnesses who testified that they never saw Grimes' hands leave the ATV's handlebars had no motive to lie.

Penney said Bessner had no "reasonability" to use deadly force, saying he didn't yell "gun, gun, gun" on his mike to dispatchers.

"He doesn't say anything like 'I thought there was a gun' until the ambulance left," the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said the only thing Grimes was guilty of was riding an ATV in the city, which is a nuisance violation.

"Penney asked jurors: "Where’s the explanation? It's not there."

Convertino told jurors during closing arguments Monday that they must not view Bessner's actions with "20/20 hindsight." The defense attorney said his client was forced to make a "split-second decision" in a tense, uncertain and "rapidly evolving" situation.

Convertino said Bessner "had no idea what was in the mind of Damon Grimes" or what the teen's intentions were that day during the chase when the teen allegedly sped past the troopers.

"You must consider the police officer's point of view...perspective," said Convertino. "They're forced to make split second decision in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving."
Click to expand...

SMDH...
 
https://www.detroitnews.com/story/n...ichigan-trooper-retrial-atv-death/1922187002/

Ex-Mich. trooper to be retried in ATV death next spring

The former Michigan State Police trooper charged in the death of a teenage ATV rider who crashed into a parked truck seconds after being Tased will go back on trial April 1.

The first trial for Mark Bessner, accused of causing the 2017 crash that killed 15-year-old Damon Grimes, ended last week in a mistrial after jurors deadlocked on charges of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.

Wayne County Judge Margaret Van Houten on Wednesday set March 8 as the deadline for all motions and other pretrial offers and issues surrounding the case.

Bessner's bond of $1 million and 24-hour tether were continued. The judge has allowed him to seek employment between the hours of 7 a.m.-6 p.m.

Grimes was driving an ATV when Bessner and his partner gave chase in the area of Rossini and Gratiot around 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 last year when Bessner Tased the teen. Seconds later Grimes, crashed into a parked pickup on Rossini.

Bessner, 44, testified during his trial that he deployed his Taser because he believed his life and that of his partner, who refused to testify during the trial, was in danger. The former trooper also said he saw Grimes reaching his left hand toward his waistband.

Several witnesses testified before Bessner's testimony that they did not see Grimes' hands leave the handlebars of the ATV that day.

Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Matthew Penney said during his closing arguments there was no justification for the Taser to be deployed. He said the four witnesses who testified that they never saw Grimes' hands leave the ATV's handlebars had no motive to lie.

Penney said Bessner had no "reasonability" to use deadly force, saying he didn't yell "gun, gun, gun" on his mike to dispatchers.

"He doesn't say anything like 'I thought there was a gun' until the ambulance left," the prosecutor said.

The prosecutor said the only thing Grimes was guilty of was riding an ATV in the city, which is a nuisance violation.

"Penney asked jurors: "Where’s the explanation? It's not there."

Defense attorney Richard Convertino told jurors during closing arguments that they must not view Bessner's actions with "20/20 hindsight." He said his client was forced to make a "split-second decision" in a tense, uncertain and "rapidly evolving" situation.

Convertino said Bessner "had no idea what was in the mind of Damon Grimes" or what the teen's intentions were that day during the chase when the teen allegedly sped past the troopers.

"You must consider the police officer's point of view ... perspective," said Convertino. "They're forced to make split second decision in circumstances that are tense, uncertain and rapidly evolving."
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top