DETROIT – Jurors in the retrial for a former Michigan State police trooper accused of firing his Taser at a 15-year-old boy who crashed his ATV and died in Detroit were shown new video that wasn't shown in the first trial.
Mark Bessner is facing second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges in Damon Grimes' death. A mistrial was declared last year after jury members failed to reach a unanimous decision.
The video shows police chasing a caravan of ATV riders. The chase occurred just two weeks before the death of 15-year-old Grimes on his ATV. The focus of the video is on what Mark Bessner allegedly said during the chase.
"I was hoping we'd get close enough to Tase that guy when he stopped," Bessner allegedly said on the video.
The trooper on the stand said he believes it was Bessner's voice from that day. The dashcam video is a new piece of evidence for the prosecution. Prosecutors found the video after Bessner's first trial, which ended with a hung jury.
There will be more testimony next week before jurors decide whether Bessner is guilty or not.
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Koco joined the Local 4 News team in September of 2016. She was born and raised in Metro Detroit, attended Central Michigan University, and previously worked at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids.