Defense rests after calling 2 expert witnesses in trial of Trooper Brian North Tuesday

The defense rested Tuesday afternoon in the manslaughter trial of State Trooper Brian North.

The attorneys ended their case after calling two experts to testify about various factors surrounding police stops and use-of-force cases.

State trooper Brian North has been charged with first-degree manslaughter in connection to the shooting death of 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane after a police pursuit that ended in West Haven on Jan. 15, 2020. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Criminal justice expert Paul Taylor was previously given all of the case materials and asked to review how officers positioned themselves outside of Soulemane’s car.

“Based on my training and experience, it did not present as a classic felony stop situation, there are a couple factors that played into that,” University of Colorado Denver criminal justice assistant professor Paul Taylor said.

In Taylor’s 2021 report provided to the state’s attorney previously overseeing the investigation, Taylor concluded that based on the information Trooper North was given at the time, including that Soulemane was armed and allegedly involved in a carjacking, North’s actions were justified.

James Borden, a retired sergeant and use-of-force expert, said North did attempt to de-escalate when he called on state trooper Joshua Jackson to use his taser.

“The effort to de-escalate is simply trying to use a lower level of force than deadly force,” Borden said. “De-escalation again is incumbent on the involvement of the suspect and the compliance of the suspect to collectively de-escalate the scene.”

North testified Friday that he fired several rounds at Soulemane after he saw he had a knife and believed the other troopers were in danger.

The two experts being called to the stand were previously hired by the state to review case materials.

The judge granted a motion made by the Inspector General that would not allow the defense to ask the experts about how and when they were hired by the state to review the details of the case.

In court on Monday, attorneys for North called to the stand a training coordinator with the Connecticut State Police Tactical Unit, which North is a part of.

The coordinator testifed about the training North received specifically when shooting in and around vehicles.