NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A judge is expected to issue key rulings in the case against decommissioned Metro police officer Andrew Delke.
Recently, Judge Monte Watkins heard three days of motions in hearings in the case and will ultimately decide what evidence, such as surveillance video of the shooting, can be used in the trial.
Delke is charged with first-degree murder in the 2018 killing of Daniel Hambrick.
Of the 84 cameras in the John Henry Hale community in Nashville, at least 17 cameras were not working at the time of the shooting. The surveillance video, which only plays back frame-by-frame, shows Delke chasing Hambrick, but we lose them behind a blind corner before Hambrick was later shot.
Defense attorney David Raybin said with an incomplete picture of the shooting, the video shouldn't be shown to a jury. However, the state argued that what's missing is a matter of a few feet and a couple of seconds, which shouldn’t make a difference.
Judge Watkins is also expected to weigh in on a late witness by the state. State attorneys consulted a use-of-force expert who also testified in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of killing George Floyd.
Prosecutors said there will be no mention of George Floyd if the witness takes the stand at all. They claim the witness serves only as a use-of-force expert, but the defense called it a stunt to connect the two cases.
Delke's trial is set to start on July 12 after it was pushed back because of the pandemic. Jury selection is expected to begin in mid-July.
