Trial delayed until May for Baltimore Officer Accused of Killing Unarmed Black Iraq War Veteran
From [HERE] BALTIMORE — The trial of a Baltimore police officer charged with shooting an unarmed man to death outside a nightclub has been postponed a second time.
Officer Gahiji Tshamba (juh-HAHJ-ee t-SHAHM-bay) had been scheduled for trial Monday, but online court records show it is now set for May 31. He's charged with first-degree murder in the June slaying of 32-year-old Tyrone Brown, a 32-year-old Marine who has served two tours of duty in Iraq -- was shot at 13 times at close range, from his department-issued handgun, hitting Brown with six shots. He died a short time later.
Tshamba is being held without bail. Tshamba's attorneys don't dispute that he shot Brown but say he was acting as a police officer. They say Tshamba saw Brown grope a woman and decided to intervene, and the situation escalated from there. The officer requestd the continuance because it needed more time to investigate.
Brown's family has since filed a $270-million lawsuit, alleging that Tshamba should have been fired from the force years ago because of questionable behavior, including another off-duty shooting and a drunk-driving incident.