Expert testifies rules weren't followed when MP was shot

Expert testifies rules weren't followed when MP was shot

SAN BERNARDINO - "Throughout a car chase and the shooting of an off-duty military policeman, a now ex-lawman failed to follow his training and to act as a responsible and objective police officer, a police procedures expert testified Monday.

And immediately before he was shot and wounded three times, Air Force military policeman Elio Carrion was "mouthy," slow to comply with orders and appeared to be intoxicated, said prosecution witness Joe Callanan.

Yet Carrion's behavior was no justification for then-San Bernardino County sheriff's Deputy Ivory Webb Jr. to open fire, Callanan said.

"The training is very clear that the officer is supposed to slow down and calm down" when dealing with drunks, the retired Los Angeles County sheriff's lieutenant told Webb's jury. "When emotions rise, reason falls off."

Webb is the first San Bernardino County deputy to be prosecuted for an on-duty shooting.

He could be imprisoned for nearly 20 years if he is convicted, as charged, of attempted voluntary manslaughter and related firearms offenses stemming from the January 2006 100-mph pursuit and subsequent shooting in Chino.

Carrion was a passenger in a fleeing Corvette that crashed into a wall.

Webb's case drew national attention because a neighborhood resident videotaped the shooting, and the tape repeatedly was broadcast on television.

A specialist in police tactics and use of force, Callanan acknowledged that Webb has told officials that, just before the shootings, he believed Carrion lunged at him and moved a hand toward the officer's gun.

Callanan said he sees no evidence of any aggressive moves on the videotape, but conceded that those issues are crucial in determining the reasonableness of Webb's decision to shoot.

A neighborhood resident testified that he heard the late-night crash, followed by at least a couple of profane commands, apparently given to the Corvette's occupants.

"With each sentence, (Webb) was speaking angrier, more agitated," said homeowner Richard Durrington. "It was profanity-laden. That's one reason it's hard to remember the commands" that were given.

Being drunk is no excuse to mouth off to an officer. Being shot is not the proper punishment for it, either.

He-said, He-said. Under most circumstances we afford the benefit of the doubt to the officer. But it's a brave new world as everyone rushes out with their cam-corder's, and harder to hide a bad shoot.