Witness testifies on death of friend fatally shot by Little Rock police officer in 2012

A teenager in the car with Bobby Moore III -- the 15-year-old who was fatally shot by a Little Rock police officer in 2012 -- said Monday that the car was fully stopped when he first spotted the officer's gun.

Keontay Walker, now 20, told jurors that he then ducked onto the floorboard on the front passenger side of the Honda Civic as Moore turned to Walker and Jeremiah Johnson, who was in the back seat, to ask what to do.

Walker told Moore to leave, and Moore put the car in reverse -- Walker felt the car jerk backward because of the gear change -- he said on the fifth day of the federal civil trial alleging Josh Hastings used excessive force in killing Moore.

"That's when I heard three shots go off," Walker said. "Boom. Boom. Boom."

Hastings, who has said he shot because he feared for his life, has faced a manslaughter charge twice in Pulaski County Circuit Court, but juries were deadlocked both times. Hastings, now 31 and a delivery driver, faces a wrongful-death civil lawsuit that was filed by Moore's mother, Sylvia Perkins, in 2015.

Perkins had originally sued the city and former Little Rock Police Chief Stuart Thomas, but Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Miller dropped both from the lawsuit. She also was seeking compensatory and punitive damages but is now only asking for compensatory damages.

Walker and Johnson, who testified Friday, have both said the Honda was in reverse when Hastings fired and that they were not trying to run over Hastings.

Johnson, who is currently in the Pulaski County jail on breaking or entering and other charges, said previously in a statement to Little Rock police detectives played for jurors Monday that he didn't know if Moore put the car in reverse. Walker had said in testimony during an earlier trial that the car was in reverse after the shots were fired.

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Walker said the three went to the Shadow Lake Apartments, 13111 W. Markham St., on Aug. 12, 2012, and started checking cars. The three got into about six cars before a car alarm went off, prompting them to leave, he said. Moore pulled onto a private driveway and was going about 10 to 15 mph, Walker said.

Hastings and another officer went to the apartment complex to investigate a report of car break-ins but had gone separate ways in an attempt to box in the suspects. Hastings, who was back on the stand Monday, said he was hiding behind a dumpster when he spotted the car.

With his flashlight in his left hand and his gun in the right, Hastings walked out from behind the dumpster and yelled: "Police. Stop the car. Police. Stop the car," he said.

"After I said commands, I figured the vehicle would stop, or if it would go out that it would hug the curb and go out," Hastings said. "As the vehicle gets close to me, the vehicle keeps driving at me. As the vehicle gets 5 feet away, I thought they were going to run me over."

He continued: "I fired my weapon at the driver to eliminate the threat."

But, Walker said, Moore had slowed to a stop after seeing a flashlight and "a black suit," and the three were met by Hastings commanding them to stop. They had attempted to flee when Hastings fired, and the car began going backward, eventually hitting a pole and a Chevrolet Camaro, Walker said. After the crash, both Walker and Johnson fled.

Mike Laux, an attorney representing Perkins, Moore's mother, asked Hastings if he had administered first aid to Moore during the time the two were alone. Hastings said he had called for an ambulance twice but conceded that he did not perform any life-saving maneuvers -- he only knew "basic, basic" first aid, he said.

Laux also went over each of Hastings' three statements to Little Rock police detectives, asking about any inconsistencies. He again pointed to the oath of office and law enforcement code of ethics and called into question Hastings' veracity.

He argued that Hastings got "overexcited and wanted to nail these guys and when it seemed like they were getting away from you, you shot 'em."

"No, sir," Hastings said.

Laux said Hastings later looked to detectives for "magic words to make this go away." Hastings denied that.

Hastings' attorney Keith Wren pointed to a statement Hastings gave to detectives that the dumpster had a concrete barrier around it, when in fact it was a wooden fence.

"You weren't saying that to throw investigators?" Wren asked.

"No, sir," Hastings said.

Wren asked if Hastings perceived a concrete barrier instead of a wooden fence that night.

"Yes, sir," Hastings said. "My concern was to stop the vehicle, place the people under arrest and get out of the way."

Wren also had played the radio traffic -- of dispatchers sending officers to the apartment complex and Hastings later calling for backup -- to show Hastings' state of mind at the time. In the recording, Hastings yelled, "Shots fired. Shots fired. Shots fired," and tried to direct emergency responders to him and Moore, while also giving out information about the two fleeing teenagers.

Walker, one of the fleeing teens, returned to the apartment complex later when police were still investigating and talked to Moore's parents, when he was taken into custody.

Little Rock police officer Brad Boyce testified Monday that he heard Walker talking to an older woman about the shooting and saw the teenager make a gesture with his hands emulating a gun.

"In order for him to be acting this out and saying what he said, he had to have been there," Boyce said.

Walker served four months in juvenile detention, graduated from a boot-camp program and was placed under house arrest. He now works for UPS.

Boyce also recalled Monday his version of events the night of the shooting. He was at a police substation unloading his items from the police car when he heard the suspicious-person call go out, he said, adding that he went back out with another officer because "it seemed like a good call."

Things started picking up by the time the two reached Bowman Road and Chenal Parkway, he said. His partner dropped him off at Markham and Farris streets, and he searched on foot for Hastings. A different officer picked him up, and the two got to Hastings.

"He was totally in shock," Boyce said. "He had made a comment, 'They had tried to run me over.'"

He made sure Hastings was OK before attempting to find the other teens, Boyce said. He and his partner eventually returned and started securing the area for the crime scene.

Laux said Boyce didn't have a clean record with use-of-force cases. He brought up the case of Eugene Ellison, a 67-year-old man who was shot by an off-duty police officer in 2010. Boyce was one of the responding officers.

Boyce had said that Ellison was pepper-sprayed in the face while wearing his eyeglasses, but the state Crime Laboratory found no evidence of pepper spray on his glasses, Laux said.

"All I can testify to is what I saw at that time," Boyce said.

"You said you saw his face get pepper-sprayed. You were very adamant about that," Laux said, asking for an explanation of the difference.

"I am not a medical professional, nor am I a chemical engineer," Boyce said. "So, no, I can't explain that."

The trial continues at 9:30 a.m. today.

Metro on 04/11/2017