LONOKE -- A former Lonoke County sheriff's deputy entered a plea of innocent to felony manslaughter Monday in the shooting death of Hunter Brittain as a crowd gathered outside the Lonoke County Courthouse in support of the teen who the deputy is accused of recklessly shooting and killing during a June 23 traffic stop.
Just minutes earlier, the crowd had chanted, "Justice for Hunter."
The rally call echoed through the courtroom and caused shifting in seats. A group of court officials and lawyers shuffled over to windows stretching from the floor to the ceiling. They hovered there, peering down from the second floor at the chanters.
Richard and Rebecca Payne, Brittain's grandparents, and three other family members sat quietly waiting for the pretrial hearing to start. The grandparents raised Brittain in the last years of the 17-year-old's life.
Across the room five supporters for Michael Davis, the deputy, also waited quietly. Only five people from each side were allowed into the courtroom.
On the first floor of the building, more of Brittain's family gathered around a security desk pleading for entrance to the courtroom. The group included Jesse Brittain, Brittain's uncle, who has acted as spokesman for the family via local and national interviews. He said he arrived late and officials wouldn't let him trade places with others already inside.
Britain's sister, Charli Brittain, and his mother, Tamara S. Leggett, also waited.
"I'm not mad at anyone," Charli Brittain said. "I just don't understand."
The group continued to plead even after the hearing started but was never granted entrance.
Within the courtroom, special prosecuting attorney Jeff Phillips and defense attorney Robert Newcomb entered. Newcomb made his way to the back of the room to talk with an assortment of law enforcement officers gathered for security purposes.
Newcomb, while wearing a face mask decorated with Santa Claus, instructed the officers to take Davis to the elevator and out the back door of the courthouse after the proceeding.
The defense attorney, who has played Santa for events throughout Central Arkansas for more than 30 years, is known for often representing law enforcement officers in cases in the state. This includes one involving Little Rock officer Charles Starks, who shot a Little Rock man to death during a traffic stop in February 2019. Pulaksi County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley did not pursue criminal charges in the Starks case.
Newcomb and Phillips found their spots at the front of the courtroom as everyone rose for 23rd Circuit Court Judge Barbara Elmore.
Phillips, a 5th Judicial District prosecutor, was assigned to the case by Elmore on July 12. The appointment came after Lonoke County Prosecuting Attorney Chuck Graham recused himself, citing his office's close working relationship with Davis.
The prosecutor, who has maintained limited contact with reporters, brought the manslaughter charge against Davis on Sept. 17 after reviewing an investigation completed by the Arkansas State Police.
An affidavit for the charges states Davis fired one shot that struck Brittain in the neck during a 3 a.m. traffic stop south of Cabot, at 7180 Arkansas 89 South. The teen was shot after exiting his truck and moving to the rear of the vehicle as it rolled backward toward the front of Davis' patrol car.
Davis told investigators that he didn't see Brittain's hands before shooting but gave verbal commands to get back in the vehicle and show his hands, the affidavit states. It says Davis saw a container fly from Brittain's hands and land on the ground as the bullet struck the teen.
Benjamin Crump and Devon Jacob, attorneys for Brittain's family, have said the teen, who was up late working on his truck's transmission, was grabbing a blue plastic bottle of antifreeze to place behind the wheel because the vehicle wouldn't shift into park.
A witness to the incident also told investigators that Brittain was test driving the vehicle, which was smoking, when pulled over by Davis. The witness also has told investigators that he didn't hear any verbal commands from Davis, according to the affidavit.
Davis was released Sept. 20 on a $15,000 bond set by 23rd Circuit County Judge Ashley Parker. On Monday, he towered next to his defense attorney as he stood before Elmore in a dress shirt, slacks and tie.
Monday's proceedings took less than 10 minutes, as Newcomb read that his client would plead innocent and requested a jury trial.
Elmore then offered a timeline for events, with a status hearing set for Jan. 24 at 10 a.m., a pretrial hearing on March 14 at 10 a.m. and a trial for March 15-18 at 9 a.m., all to be held at the Lonoke County Courthouse.
Immediately after the hearing, Newcomb escorted Davis back to law enforcement, who brought the former deputy to the elevator. Phillips and the Brittain family were held at the door of the courtroom until Davis entered the elevator.
Downstairs, Brittain family members still waited at the guard station, and the crowds continued to gather.
Crump and Jacob represented the family of George Floyd, a 46-year-old man who died last year while in police custody in Minneapolis and whose death sparked a wave of protests across the nation focused on police brutality and racism. Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted of murder in Floyd's death. Brittain's family retained the two civil-rights attorneys after the case received widespread attention.
Civil-rights leader Al Sharpton also spoke at Brittain's funeral.
Davis, who faces a 10-year sentence if convicted, was fired from the Lonoke County sheriff's office a week after the shooting because he didn't activate his body camera in a timely manner during the incident, Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley said July 1.
The body camera video captured when Davis activated the camera after the shooting has not been released. It's unclear exactly what it shows, but Staley said, "We see the aftermath, but not the shooting."
Brittain, of McRae, was known for his love of NASCAR, his truck and his job at Scott Hundley Construction. His family said he also loved to ride motorcycles and four-wheelers.
"We haven't recovered," Jesse Brittain said after the hearing. "The days aren't getting any easier."