Monday
Jun042007
Latino War Veteran Testifies deputy shot him despite explanations
Monday, June 4, 2007 at 11:55PM
By Maeve Reston
From the LA Times
An unarmed Air Force airman who was shot by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after a high-speed chase in 2006 testified today that he repeatedly tried to reassure the deputy that he meant no harm and was following the officer's commands when he was shot three times at close range.
"I tell him . . . my friend did something stupid . . . we're on your side," said Elio Carrion, 23, who was a passenger in a speeding Corvette driven by a friend who had been drinking.
Carrion testified that in the seconds before he was shot -- an incident caught on videotape by residents living across the street from where the Corvette crashed -- he told the officer he was in the "[expletive] military" and that the officer had "better believe" him.
"The officer says, 'OK, get up, get up,' " said Carrion, who had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq when the incident occurred. Carrion had gotten out of the car after the crash and was sprawled on the ground.
He told jurors that he confirmed the officer's command by telling him that he was going to get up off the ground next to the Corvette. "As I get up, he shoots me."
Prosecutors charged Ivory John Webb Jr., who has since left the Sheriff's Department, with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm. He could face more than 18 years in prison.
Dist. Atty. Michael Ramos said last year that he and other prosecutors had listened to the tape several times and that all of them heard Webb order Carrion to get up twice before shooting him.
Webb has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his lead lawyer has said Webb believed he saw Carrion reach for a weapon when he fired.
Carrion, who joined the Air Force after high school and became a military police officer, is home for the trial on temporary leave from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, where he returned to desk duty last year.
The airman spent 3 ½ months recovering from wounds to his chest, shoulder and left femur, which was shattered. He has been unable to resume his duties on patrol because of his injuries, and his civil attorney says Carrion is unsure whether the military will allow him to continue his career in the military.
On the night of the shooting, Carrion was celebrating the final days of a weeks-long leave at his parents' home in Montclair after a six-month tour in Iraq.
He had organized a barbecue with family and friends and had been drinking with high school friend Luis Escobedo, who convinced him to take a ride in another friend's Corvette.
What began as a drive along an industrial street quickly turned into a police chase at more than 100 mph.
Webb was the second deputy to pick up the pursuit after a first deputy lost sight of the car.
Escobedo, who testified that he fled while driving the Corvette because he had been drinking heavily and believed police already had a warrant for his arrest on a previous DUI, ignored Carrion's pleas to stop .
"I tell him to stop, pull over, slow down," Carrion testified this morning. "I recall him saying, "I know what I'm doing.' "
When Escobedo, who testified that he had as many as a dozen beers and five shots of tequila, lost control of the car and crashed, Webb was the lone officer to confront the two men.
Seconds after the shooting, as Carrion lay moaning on the ground, Webb shouted at him: "You [expletive], get up mother [expletive]! Try to attack me?" according to a transcript provided to jurors.
Webb offered investigators a different version, accusing Carrion of reaching into his jacket.
Prosecutor R. Lewis Cope asked Carrion to describe the pain of the bullet wounds as he lay in the street waiting for medical aid.
"You can't describe it," Carrion testified. "It's really hot and hurting. I was fighting to stay awake…. At the time, I thought if I close my eyes, or see black, I don't know if I'd wake up again."
From the LA Times
An unarmed Air Force airman who was shot by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy after a high-speed chase in 2006 testified today that he repeatedly tried to reassure the deputy that he meant no harm and was following the officer's commands when he was shot three times at close range.
"I tell him . . . my friend did something stupid . . . we're on your side," said Elio Carrion, 23, who was a passenger in a speeding Corvette driven by a friend who had been drinking.
Carrion testified that in the seconds before he was shot -- an incident caught on videotape by residents living across the street from where the Corvette crashed -- he told the officer he was in the "[expletive] military" and that the officer had "better believe" him.
"The officer says, 'OK, get up, get up,' " said Carrion, who had just returned from a tour of duty in Iraq when the incident occurred. Carrion had gotten out of the car after the crash and was sprawled on the ground.
He told jurors that he confirmed the officer's command by telling him that he was going to get up off the ground next to the Corvette. "As I get up, he shoots me."
Prosecutors charged Ivory John Webb Jr., who has since left the Sheriff's Department, with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm. He could face more than 18 years in prison.
Dist. Atty. Michael Ramos said last year that he and other prosecutors had listened to the tape several times and that all of them heard Webb order Carrion to get up twice before shooting him.
Webb has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and his lead lawyer has said Webb believed he saw Carrion reach for a weapon when he fired.
Carrion, who joined the Air Force after high school and became a military police officer, is home for the trial on temporary leave from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, where he returned to desk duty last year.
The airman spent 3 ½ months recovering from wounds to his chest, shoulder and left femur, which was shattered. He has been unable to resume his duties on patrol because of his injuries, and his civil attorney says Carrion is unsure whether the military will allow him to continue his career in the military.
On the night of the shooting, Carrion was celebrating the final days of a weeks-long leave at his parents' home in Montclair after a six-month tour in Iraq.
He had organized a barbecue with family and friends and had been drinking with high school friend Luis Escobedo, who convinced him to take a ride in another friend's Corvette.
What began as a drive along an industrial street quickly turned into a police chase at more than 100 mph.
Webb was the second deputy to pick up the pursuit after a first deputy lost sight of the car.
Escobedo, who testified that he fled while driving the Corvette because he had been drinking heavily and believed police already had a warrant for his arrest on a previous DUI, ignored Carrion's pleas to stop .
"I tell him to stop, pull over, slow down," Carrion testified this morning. "I recall him saying, "I know what I'm doing.' "
When Escobedo, who testified that he had as many as a dozen beers and five shots of tequila, lost control of the car and crashed, Webb was the lone officer to confront the two men.
Seconds after the shooting, as Carrion lay moaning on the ground, Webb shouted at him: "You [expletive], get up mother [expletive]! Try to attack me?" according to a transcript provided to jurors.
Webb offered investigators a different version, accusing Carrion of reaching into his jacket.
Prosecutor R. Lewis Cope asked Carrion to describe the pain of the bullet wounds as he lay in the street waiting for medical aid.
"You can't describe it," Carrion testified. "It's really hot and hurting. I was fighting to stay awake…. At the time, I thought if I close my eyes, or see black, I don't know if I'd wake up again."
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