The airman who was shot three times last year by a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy testified Monday that he never threatened the officer but disobeyed commands to be silent because he was trying to defuse the deputy's anger and assure him he "meant no harm."
If convicted, former Deputy Ivory John Webb Jr. could face more than 18 years in prison for firing on 23-year-old Elio Carrion, who was held at gunpoint by Webb on a dark street in Chino. The shooting occurred after Webb chased a Corvette driven by Carrion's high school friend at more than 100 mph in January 2006.
The San Bernardino County district attorney's office charged Webb with attempted voluntary manslaughter and assault with a firearm after the shooting, which was filmed by a bystander. Carrion showed no reaction when the video was played in the courtroom Monday.
The airman, who was a passenger in the Corvette while home on leave after a six-month tour as a military police officer in Iraq, testified that he was trying to calm Webb down as the officer stood over him.
"I was frightened a little bit, because he had a gun pointing at me and was yelling and cussing at me," said Carrion, who got out of the car and lay on the ground after the crash.
"I tried to talk to him to defuse the situation -- to have him know that I wasn't threatening at all."
Carrion, who said he was "buzzed" after drinking at an afternoon barbecue with friends at his parents' house, testified that he continued talking as Webb repeatedly told him, using vulgarities, to shut up.
Just before he was shot, Carrion said, he told Webb, with expletives, that he had more training than Webb and that the officer had "better believe" him.
After that comment, Carrion testified, Webb lowered his voice and answered in a calmer tone.
"The officer says, 'OK, get up, get up,' " Carrion testified.
Carrion confirmed the officer's command by repeating it back, he said.
"As I get up, he shoots me," he testified.
In a contentious cross-examination that spanned most of the afternoon, Webb's lead attorney sharply questioned Carrion's failure to stop the driver of the Corvette, who had been drinking, from leading deputies on a dangerous chase through Chino.
Webb's attorney, Michael Schwartz, quizzed Carrion about his actions during almost every moment of the chase -- asking why the airman did not stop the car by pulling the keys out of the Corvette's ignition or by fighting his friend to make him stop.
