Tough questions. Chris Coleman tried to answer. He was in the hot seat all day.
He's accused of using excessive force on Rolando Celdon and falsifying reports back in 2005.
One of the main questions asked, why did he lie in his initial police report? In the report, Coleman said he shot at Celdon with a "less-than-lethal" shotgun because Celdon picked up a stick and bottle.
It turns out, Celdon never did.
Coleman said he "didn't know what he was thinking" when he wrote it, and that was just his "draft report." He said, "At that time, I wanted to get something in to prevent from getting in even more trouble." He claims he wrote the report a day later, and was worried because had already been reprimanded for turning reports in late.
He deleted the false information in his final report.
Coleman also explained what happened during the incident with Celdon. He says he shot at Celdon with a "less than lethal" shotgun four to six times. He said Celdon refused to put his hands over his head, even though he told him to about a dozen times.
Prosecutors were quick to fire back at that claim. They pointed out in Coleman's previous testimony, he said he didn't remember what caused him to shoot Celdon. Coleman also denied ever trying to hit Celdon with a car. He said he couldn't be certain if Celdon was armed or not, and his primary concern was to protect officer Sean Plymale, who was injured and near Celdon.
The trial will continue Tuesday morning. The other accused officers, Paul van Dalen, Michael Manfredi, and Sean Plymale are also expected to take the stand.
If convicted, the officers could face up to 20 years in prison.
TXT 24
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