Jury selection has begun in Milford in the trial of Connecticut State Police trooper Brian North.
North is charged with killing 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane after a police chase in January 2020. North has pleaded not guilty.
State police said Soulemane carjacked a vehicle in Norwalk and then drove roughly 30 miles weaving in and out of rush-hour traffic before stopping in West Haven.
Body camera footage shows how police boxed in the car Soulemane was driving.
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The footage shows a West Haven officer smashing out the passenger window before another trooper shot Soulemane with a stun gun.
North then fired his gun through the driver's door window when Soulemane displayed a knife.
Soulemane died from his injuries. His family said he was a community college student who had schizophrenia.
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The Inspector General released a report saying that when North fired his weapon, he and the other officers were not in imminent danger of serious injury or death and found North's actions were not justified.
North was arrested in April 2022 and at his first court appearance, he had several of his fellow troopers show up to support him.
The state police union said North acted objectively during a violent encounter when he was forced to make a decision during dangerous and rapidly evolving circumstances.
North is the first officer in more than a decade here in Connecticut to be charged in a fatal shooting.
