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An immunity hearing has begun for an Alabama officer who fatally shot a Black man outside of his home.
Decatur police officer Mac Marquette, 25, is facing murder charges for the September 2023 deadly shooting of Steve Perkins.
On Tuesday (March 25), Circuit court judge Charles Elliot heard testimony surrounding newly-released body camera footage that captured the moments before Marquette shot Perkins, who was armed, per the Associated Press.
Elliot will decide whether Marquette should be shielded from prosecution due to Alabama's "stand your ground law," which grants immunity to individuals who use deadly force under the reasonable belief that they're in danger.
Marquette was among three officers who accompanied tow-truck driver Caleb Combs to repossess Perkins' vehicle at his Decatur home. Combs had called police to report that Perkins pointed a gun at his chest during his first attempt to repossess the vehicle. Combs said he wanted to retry the repossession, but the tow truck driver didn't want to "go back alone" after the alleged gun incident.
According to body camera footage, all the officers were out of sight when Combs approached Perkins' front door as he returned to the home with his tow-truck. A beam visible in body camera video appeared to indicate that Perkins pointed his gun toward Combs.
Video shows Marquette then rounding the corner to confront Perkins. Perkins appeared to point his gun at Marquette, who shouted “Police, get on the ground" and instantly fired roughly 17 bullets.
Before Marquette opened fire, the visible beam in body camera footage suggested that Perkins pointed his gun upward and away from Marquette, indicating that he attempted to raise his arms in surrender. Perkins also didn't fire any bullets.
Jamie King, the state law enforcement agent who investigated the shooting, said that the officers had “reasonable belief that Perkins was going to use deadly force" and were forced to make a quick decision.
However, King called into question why the officers had accompanied Combs on the repossession in the first place. According to Alabama law, law enforcement is barred from assisting in a repossesion without a judge's authority.
The officers insisted that they weren't assisting but instead providing Combs with a “civil escort” to “keep the peace.”
King said that officers “exceeded the scope" of their responsibilities by appearing at the vehicle seizure without a court order.
“In order to keep the peace you need officer presence, and officer presence means an officer had to be visible,” King said.
Marquette's immunity hearing is set to continue on Wednesday (March 26). If denied immunity, Marquette's trial is scheduled to begin on April 7.
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