Testimony continues in case of CT state trooper who fatally shot 19-year-old in 2020
The trial continued with testimony from the rideshare driver whose vehicle was stolen by Soulemane.
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The trial for the Connecticut State Trooper who fatally shot 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane in Norwalk on Jan.15, 2020, continued with testimony from the rideshare driver whose vehicle was stolen by Soulemane.
The trial comes after Brian North turned down a plea deal.
Daniel Green was working for Lyft when he picked up Soulemane in Norwalk at the time of the incident.
Green testified he pulled his car into a nearby gas station after Soulemane hit him in the back of the head.
The jury saw a video of Soulemane moving from the back seat to the driver's seat.
In the video, a Norwalk police officer who was dispatched to the area is seen running up to the car and trying to open the door that was locked.
Officer Daniel Vazquez testified he and another Norwalk officer pursued the car onto the Route 7 connector but were called off as it sped onto I-95 North.
But state police continued the chase. It ended on Campbell Avenue in West Haven after Soulemane crashed and troopers boxed him in.
That's when Trooper North fired into the window of the stopped car as Soulemane sat in the driver's seat with a knife.
North, who pleaded not guilty to first-degree manslaughter with a firearm, is charged with killing Soulemane for firing seven gunshots into a stopped car in 2020.
Sgt. Kevin Duggan, with the Connecticut State Police, was the evidence officer in the case. Duggan showed the jury bullets recovered from the scene and removed from Soulemane’s body.
Jurors also saw North's weapon up close. North told investigators he believed he was protecting officers on the other side of the car when he opened fire.
Emotions were high inside the courtroom as Soulemane’s family members displayed stickers with his picture. On the other side, many supporters sat behind the defense showing stickers in support of Trooper North.
North is the first Connecticut law enforcement officer to be charged in a deadly on-the-job shooting in over a decade.
MORE: Trial starts for Connecticut state trooper charged in shooting death of Mubarak Soulemane
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