he was indicted for a criminal offense, manslaughter. reporter: witnesses say the teen had his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender at the time of the shooting. thelma: it s proven evidence. he surrendered. that s murder. he just shot him when he gave up. paul: listen, this was a tragedy, but phillip was a kid who had a gun who shouldn t ve had a gun. gervonn: it just didn t fit the narrative of a young boy that grew up in this community. i mean, this was teaneck. walter: to me, the facts in the case are so obvious, at least in this instance. we re going to get justice (music) reporter: we reported this morning defense lawyer robert galantucci surprised everyone in the courtroom, especially the prosecution team, by calling the defendant himself to the stand. let s go to the courtroom now live, where gary spath is testifying in his own behalf. mike: we didn t know that gary spath would testify as the trial began. there was some concern on the part of spath s defense atto
courtroom for the trial of new jersey versus police officer gary spath. mike: it is extremely rare for police officers to be put on trial. this was a police officer who claimed he was doing his duty. and in the course of doing his duty, he was indicted for a criminal offense, manslaughter. reporter: witnesses say the teen had his hands in the air in a gesture of surrender at the time of the shooting. thelma: it s proven evidence. he surrendered. that s murder. he just shot him when he gave up. paul: listen, this was a tragedy, but phillip was a kid who had a gun who shouldn t ve had a gun. gervonn: it just didn t fit the narrative of a young boy that grew up in this community. i mean, this was teaneck. walter: to me, the facts in the case are so obvious, at least in this instance. we re going to get justice (music) reporter: we reported this morning defense lawyer robert galantucci surprised everyone in the courtroom, especially the prosecution team, by calling the defendant
wanton and reckless disregard for human life. glenn: he went into his pockets and you started shooting. spath: i was performing my job. i got a gun call. i ran after the suspect. he came at me with his hand in the pocket and he was going to shoot me. that s the truth. mike: i believe that spath came to believe in a reality that simply doesn t add up to the forensics. if you look at this objectively, it was impossible for phillip to be shot in the back and be turning to shoot gary spath. patuto: certainly forensics can be helpful, but in my mind, my humble opinion is that they should never be conclusive. spath: this guy was going to shoot me. i had no choice but to shoot at him to save my own life. forgive me, sir. this is what i had to do. thelma: everybody knew my son that he wasn t that kind of a young man. i ll believe that till the day i die. that he was trying to make it home. reporter: there is now going to be
except in rare cases. the jury wants to hear from a police officer. they have to hear from a police officer because if it s left out, you re not going to get his side of the story. spath: i got out and i pulled my weapon. spath: i pulled my weapon because we just received the gun call and when you get a gun call, you i reasonably believed the potential existed that i could get shot.
spath: i got out and i pulled my weapon. spath: i pulled my weapon because we just received the gun call and when you get a gun call, you i reasonably believed the potential existed that i could get shot. thelma: when he walked on the stand, you know, i m telling you, i was saying he s nothing but the devil.