Mar 11, 2009 7:53 pm US/Eastern
NYPD Officer Takes Stand In Manslaughter Trial
Honduran Immigrant Gunned Down By Off-Duty Cop
BRONX (CBS) ―
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NYPD traffic copy Raphael Lora took the stand in his manslaughter trial on March 11.
CBS
A Bronx cop on trial for manslaughter said he had no choice but to shoot an unarmed man.
Officer Raphael Lora spent three hours on the stand Wednesday. He's a veteran cop and ex-combat Marine, but now he's fighting to stay out of prison.
"It's a very frightening situation to have to take the stand in your own defense. He's been living with this for the last 18 months. I thought he was professional, calm. Shots was fired, and he did hit the cop with the vehicle," said Lora's attorney Stuart London.
Lora called 9-1-1 the night he killed Honduran immigrant Fermin Arzu. Arzu was drunk when he crashed his van outside Lora's home. The off-duty cop grabbed his gun and ran to the vehicle. Lora said Arzu was incoherent, then suddenly Arzu threw something in Lora's face and started driving away.
Lora said his arm was stuck in the door. "My main intention was to extract myself from the car and that's when I fired my weapon," he said.
There were five shots. One hit Arzu in the back, killing him.
Juana Arzu, the victim's sister, said "I feel sick now. Yeah, I feel bad, I don't like nothing." The Arzu family says the cop's story doesn't hang together.
For instance, there's nothing in the EMT report to support Lora's claim that his tooth was chipped when Arzu threw something at his face, and the cop has told different versions of firing, both in order to break free of the moving van, and breaking free then firing.
"Frankly rather than acting like a heroic officer to render aid, he acted with a chicken heart," said Arzu family attorney Michael Hardy.
Lora decided against a jury trial, so a judge will decide if this shooting was justified, or a case of manslaughter.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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