Four months after former Dallas police officer Amy Wilburn got off with no jail time after pleading guilty to shooting an unarmed Black man, her attorney called her actions objectively “reasonable” in civil court Monday.
Kelvion Walker launched a multimillion-dollar federal civil suit against Amy Wilburn, who was sentenced to 18 months of probation after pleading to misdemeanor charges in December 2013 incident.
Court proceedings started Monday, with Walker’s attorney, Geoff Henley, telling the court in his opening statement that Walker had to undergo three life-saving operations and remains physically and emotionally scarred from the encounter.
Police dash cam video showed Wilburn chasing a suspected stolen car Walker, who was 19-years-old at the time, was a passenger in.
The video showed the driver jumping out of the car, Wilburn walking up to the vehicle and immediately shooting Walker, who was still wearing his seat-belt, in the stomach.
Wilburn was fired after an internal affairs investigation following the incident, several media outlets reported.
Related: Former Dallas Police Officer Who Shot Unarmed Teen Will Receive No Jail Time
Wilburn was initially charged with felony aggravated assault, which could carry a life sentence, but she pleaded to the lesser misdemeanor of recklessly discharging a firearm in May, KTVT reported.
She has since filed a motion to remove that plea, KTVT reported.
The plaintiff’s witness, Scotty Smith, told the court Monday he saw Walker sitting in the car with his hands up for eight to nine seconds, before Wilburn shot him.
Wilburn was the first Dallas police officer to be indicted for shooting a suspect in more than four decades at the time of her indictment in 2014, KTVT reported.
Walker accrued more than $300,000 in medical bills in the incident, according to court records.
