Driver Testifies: I Didn’t Want Cops to Find the Crack

Brandon Henry testified in the trial against Robert Lawlor

By DOUG GREENE

Updated 2:30 PM EDT, Tue, Nov 17, 2009

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With crack in the door by his side, Brandon Henry did not want police to arrest him, he told the jury in the trial of Robert Lawlor on Tuesday.

Lawlor was forced out of the Hartford Police Department and charged with manslaughter after he shot and killed Jashon Bryant four years ago. The trial against him entered the seventh day of testimony.

Henry was driving the car when Lawlor pulled his gun, ordered him to freeze, put up his hands and stop the car.

Henry complied, but he didn't want the cops to find his crack, he said.

Then, he noticed Lawlor turn his head

"That's when I seen the opportunity to flee so I flee. I heard a gunshot," he told the jury. "I felt a burning sensation as soon as the car started rolling. I felt something as soon as I put the car in gear, soon as the car start rolling, I felt myself hit the steering wheel."

Prosecutor Michael Dearington asked him whether Bryant said anything from the passenger seat when Henry made his getaway attempt.

"Yeah, he told me to chill," he said.

Henry's testimony continues this afternoon.

First Published: Nov 17, 2009 2:11 PM EDT

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