The Arizona Republic
Phoenix (AP) -- A prosecutor sought to paint Dawn Rae Nelson as a mother needlessly gunned down by a police officer while a defense attorney argued the officer had to shoot to avoid being run down as arguments began in the trial of former Chandler Officer Dan Lovelace.
Lovelace, 39, is the first Arizona officer accused of murder stemming from an on-duty shooting. He faces charges of second-degree murder and endangerment in Maricopa County Superior Court.
Nearly two years ago, Lovelace shot Nelson to death in a drug store drive-thru after being called there because of she was trying to fill a fraudulent prescription. Lovelace said Nelson tried to run him down, but prosecutors have said Lovelace ran after her and shot her from close range.
“A Chandler police officer shot and killed a citizen,” Deputy Maricopa County Attorney Vince Imbordino told jurors. “He shot her from behind at a time when she was no threat to anyone else.”
Defense attorney Craig Mehrens said Nelson was committing a crime by forging a prescription and was under the influence of three prescription drugs.
“It’s a tough job that police officers have. It’s easy for us men in suits to second-guess what he did,” Mehrens said. “To suggest she was not a threat to Officer Lovelace is just not what happened, not even for the witnesses they (prosecutors) trust.”
Lovelace was fired after a police investigation.
The Nelson family filed a civil suit, which the city settled in November for at least $1.94 million.