The jury in the manslaughter trial of Baltimore Police Officer Tommy Sanders is likely to begin deliberations Friday, after the defense rested its case with testimony from the author of the city police's use of force guidelines, who testified that Sanders' shooting of an unarmed man in 2008 was justified.
Sanders' attorney, Michael J. Belsky, and Assistant State's Attorney Lisa Goldberg will give closing arguments Friday, leaving jurors to decide whether Sanders unnecessarily shot and killed Edward Lamont Hunt, 27, as he ran across the parking lot of the Hamilton Park Shopping Center to evade arrest.
During the trial, which began Monday, Sanders testified that he was threatened by what he perceived as Hunt reaching into his pocket, possibly for a weapon, as he fled. Eight eye-witnesses testified for the prosecution that they did not see Hunt reaching. There was no weapon found on Hunt at the scene.
A grand jury indicted Sanders in July on charges of voluntary and involuntary manslaughter, making Sanders the first Baltimore police officer to be indicted in a duty-related shooting since 1996.