A 79-year-old retired Florida police captain went on trial for murder on Monday, eight years after fatally shooting a man who had thrown a bag of popcorn at him during a confrontation over texting in a cinema.
Opening statements began in the trial of Curtis Reeves, who is charged with second-degree murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in the deadly 2014 encounter with Chad Oulsen in Wesley Chapel, Florida.
At issue is not whether Mr Reeves shot and killed Oulson during a showing of Lone Survivor at the cinema on January 13, 2014.
It’s whether the former cop felt threatened enough by Oulson to justify firing his .380-calibre handgun after the two argued over Oulson’s mobile phone use in the movie theatre.
Mr Reeves initially attempted to use Florida's "stand your ground" self-defence law, but a judge in 2017 determined it did not apply and the case was forced to trial.
Florida's controversial "stand your ground" rules state that deadly force is justified if a person is attacked in a place where he or she is allowed to be, not engaged in an unlawful activity and reasonably believes force is necessary to prevent death or bodily harm.
To prosecutors, the triggering event in the argument was Oulson’s tossing of a bag of popcorn at Mr Reeves — and that’s not enough to claim self-defence.
“What the evidence will show you is that Chad Oulson was shot and killed over tossing popcorn,” Assistant State Attorney Scott Rosenwasser told jurors in an opening statement. “That’s no reason to kill another person.”
The defence, however, contends that Mr Reeves, then 71, was in declining health and feared the 43-year-old Oulson would punch or otherwise assault him — and may have thrown his cellphone at the older man.
Defence attorney Dino Michaels said Mr Reeves also understood risk and sensed danger from his 27 years with the Tampa Police Department.
“This isn’t about popcorn,” Mr Michaels told the jury. “You’re going to see there was an attack before the popcorn was thrown.”
The former police captain was initially held without bail, but in July 2014 was freed on $150,000 bond on the conditions he only leave his home for church, medical appointments, court and visits to the supermarket, CNN reported.
A string of factors, pretrial hearings and the Covid-19 pandemic brought years of delays to the trial.
Prosecutors said Oulsen was texting his daughter during the previews, which annoyed Mr Reeves. Oulson's wife, Nicole, said he was texting their daughter's babysitter.
Mr Reeves went to complain to a cinema employee and, when he returned, got into an argument with Oulson, resulting in the popcorn throwing.
AP contributed to this report.
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
