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Christopher Taylor trial: Defense calls final witnesses, rests case on Day 11

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Published  November 6, 2023 6:27pm CST
Austin
FOX 7 Austin

Christopher Taylor trial: Witness testimony

On day 11 of APD officer Christopher Taylor's murder trial, the defense called two expert witnesses in hopes of debunking previous testimony provided by the state's witnesses.

AUSTIN, Texas - On day 11, the defense rested its case in the APD Officer Christopher Taylor murder trial. This came after the defense called its final witnesses to the stand.

"He's a human being. He's got to make his own decisions, and he’s got to do the best job that he can," said Dr. David Gilden, a psychology professor at UT Austin.

Dr. Gilden was talking about Officer Taylor on the stand. He was called to testify in his murder trial as an expert witness for the defense.

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"It's an illusion because the past and the situation that Mr. Taylor was in, was not watching TV, a videotape. He was looking through an optic and focusing on a particular job which was ‘aim at Mr. Ramos’," he said.

A 3D recreation of what happened April 24, 2020, from Officer Taylor’s perspective was presented to the jury. It was said to have been created by laser scan points of the scene combined with video taken from the scene. It was presented by another expert witness of the defense, Henry Mowry.

The 3D rendering showed a view through the optic of a gun pointed at Ramos. Dr. Gilden says this is the best representation of Taylor's limited field of vision when he shot and killed Michael Ramos.

"He is looking through the optic, and you’ve seen how limited that is. He aimed at Mr. Ramos and he shot at Mr. Ramos. In order to do that, he had to have a close and accurate aim," he said.

The state cross-examined Dr Gilden and pointed out it was Taylor’s decision to shoot Ramos regardless of what happened next.

The state asked Dr. Gilden one final question during their first round of questions.

Before court resumed Monday, Nov. 6, and out of the presence of the jury, Judge Dayna Blazey addressed a person sitting in the court's audience. She said he apparently took photos of the jury leaving and left behind an "inappropriate" note in the courtroom. She gave him a warning and said any further rules broken could lead to a courtroom ban.

No further details were provided on what the note said.

The trial continues Tuesday, Nov. 7 at 9 a.m.