Sheriff’s deputy acted reasonably in shooting which paralyzed man, expert tells federal jury

Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy Adams Lin had an obligation to defend his life whenconfronted with amanhe thought had agun, a lawenforcementexpert told a federal juryTuesday.

“A reasonable law enforcement officer would fire in their own defense,” testified Emanuel Kapelsohn, a firearms and use-offorce training consultant.

Lin and the Sheriff’s Office are being sued for damages in the Sept. 13, 2013, shooting of Dontrell Stephens.

Stephens, whois black, was pulled over on his bicycle for a traffic infractionwest ofWest Palm Beach. Within four seconds, Lin shot Stephens with his police-issued .40-caliber pistol four times, leaving him a paraplegic.

The State Attorney’s Office cleared Lin of any criminal wrongdoing.

Stephens testified earlier that he followed Lin’s instructions, but the deputy came at him already pointing his gun. Stephens said he turned to run after Lin fired one bullet, and then hewas shot in the back.

Lin testified he thought a black object in Stephens’ left hand was a gun. Lin said Stephens turned his body — a term police refer to as blading — in way that made him think Stephens might be about to fire a weapon. Lin said he didn’t know until later that the object was in Stephens’ right hand and was only a broken cell phone.

Police use blading too, Kapelsohn said, as a defensive and aggressive technique to keep their ownweapons away fromsuspects.

“That’s the stance someone stands fight,” he said.

“If youwait for a muzzle flash, that might be the last thing you see,” said Kapelsohn. “That might be suicidal.”

Kapelsohn said in high stress situations items such as black wallets, cell phones and car keys have been “mistaken for a gun.”

“The officer almost can never tell if there’s a deadly threat,” he said. “They must go on their best reasonable belief.”

He also defended Lin’s decision to shoot in rapid-fire succession.

Police are “not trained to fire one shot and wait and see,” he said. “Officers are trained to shoot as rapidly as possible.”

Stephens’ attorneys have argued that Stephenswas a victim ofunreasonablyexcessive police force. Attorneys said he stopped his bicycle — which didn’t have working brakes

to — as soon as he could.

“Whywould anyone in their right mind ... 10 feet away from a heavily armed police officer ... why would anyone take their cell phone and thrust it in the direction of the police officer?” asked attorney Jack Scarola.

“People do things that are foolish,” Kapelsohn said. And, “I don’t knowif hewas in his right mind or not. ... People do things because they are stoned, because they’re drunk.”

Stephens previously testified he smoked marijuana that morning andwas “a little bit” high. He also had1.7 grams of marijuana in a clear plastic bag thatwas stuffed in his shoe, which Lin’s attorneys suggested might be a motive to flee.

Linhasbeeninthecourtroomeverydayof the trial. Stephens, whose testimony was drawnout because hewas in pain, was not in the courtroomTuesday.

Testimony finished Tuesday after six full days of testimony. The jury will hear closing arguments and begin deliberationsWednesday.

Any damagesmust be awarded by a unanimous jury.

lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008