The jury is in Kyle Rittenhouse The murder trial watched a drone video on Tuesday that showed Rittenhouse shooting Joseph Rosenbaum at close range during a night of turbulent protests on the streets of London. Kenosha.
When this video, enlarged and slowed down by forensic imaging experts, was shown, the prosecution’s case seemed to be ending after a week of testimony. Some of the witnesses often supported Rittenhouse’s self-defense claims.
The footage showed Rosenbaum following Rittenhouse, then Rittenhouse suddenly turned around and shot him. Rosenbaum fell and Rittenhouse ran around a car.
Expert James Armstrong said that the National Crime Laboratory did not receive the video until Sunday, meaning the trial lasted for nearly a week.
This was the clearest video to date in the fatal shooting in August 2020, which triggered the bloodshed moments later: The then 17-year-old Rittenhouse killed 26-year-old protester Anthony Huber, who was a bystander Video of hitting Rittenhouse with a skateboard. Rittenhouse then wounded the protester and volunteer medical doctor Gaige Grosskreutz.
Kenosha detective Ben Antaramian testified that at some point during their investigation, the authorities learned that someone had recorded a drone video. The video has been played in a Fox News segment.
Prosecutors received a low-resolution copy earlier in the investigation, but did not get a high-resolution copy until Friday.
The 18-year-old Rittenhouse is a former young police cadet from Antioch, Illinois. He took an AR-style semi-automatic rifle and a medical kit to Kenosha. He said it was to protect property. Destroyed by sometimes violent demonstrations, a white Kenosha police officer shot and killed black Jacob Black and appeared in court.
The prosecutor portrayed Rittenhouse as the instigator of the bloodshed that night. His lawyer argued that his actions were in self-defense, implying that he was worried that his rifle would be taken away and used against him.
If the most serious charges against him are convicted, he could be sentenced to life imprisonment.
Witnesses testified last week that the first person to be shot was 36-year-old Rosenbaum, who was “tempered” and “belligerent” that night and threatened to kill Rittenhouse. A witness said Rosenbaum was shot dead after chasing Rittenhouse and rushing to the young man’s rifle.
On Monday, Gross Kruitz testified that he pointed his gun at Rittenhouse before being shot. But he said he did not intend to fire it, nor did he intend to fire it.
27-year-old Grosskreutz said: “I think the defendant is an aggressive shooter.” When he was asked what he thought when approaching Rittenhouse, he said, “I’m going to die.”
Rittenhouse shot Grosskruitz in the arm, tearing most of his biceps-or “evaporating”, as witnesses said.
Wisconsin’s self-defense law allows someone to use lethal force only when “it is necessary to prevent imminent death or serious bodily injury.” The jury must decide whether Rittenhouse believes he is in this danger, and whether this view is reasonable in the circumstances.
Grosskreutz said he went to Kenosha to protest as a military doctor, wearing a hat with the words “paramedic” and carrying medical supplies in addition to a loaded pistol. He said that his permit to carry hidden weapons had expired and that he did not have a valid weapon that night.
“I believe in the Second Amendment. I support people’s right to carry and carry weapons,” he said, explaining why he wants to be armed. “That night was no different from any other day. Keys, phone, wallet, gun.”
Although Rittenhouse was white and the people he shot were also white, the case triggered intense racial issues about vigilance, the right to bear arms, and the riots that broke out in the United States due to police violence against blacks that summer. debate.
© 2021 Canadian Press
