Jury deliberations will continue Tuesday in the case of former Hartford police officer Robert Lawlor.
The panel will decide if Lawlor broke the law in 2005 when he shot and killed Jashon Bryant, 18, in an undercover-sting-gone-wrong.
Lawyers for the 18-year veteran police officer say Lawlor was obligated to protect the people of the city he served and that's even if it means using a gun.
However, prosecutors say cops, just like the rest of us, have to follow the laws.
If convicted, Lawlor could serve 40 years in prison for manslaughter and assault.
The shooting happened in May 2005, in Hartford's North End when Lawlor said he saw Bryant get in a car, holding a gun. Lawlor walked up. The driver took off. Lawlor fired. Bryant was killed.
But, investigators say no gun was found.
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Prosecutor Michael Dearington said it's not likely that Lawlor saw a weapon.
"How can you see a gun if someone's back is to you, if there's a car between you and him and you're 115 feet away and you're looking over the shoulder of a junkie? How could he see that?," Dearington said.
The jury must decide if Lawlor was justified in pulling the trigger that fateful night.
"In a case such as this, not only is reasonable doubt an issue but the state must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt that the police officer was justified,” Michael Georgetti, Lawlor's lawyer, said. “That's really what the jury is concerned with in this case."
