Jury views video of shooting in second day of Washington County deputy's manslaughter trial

STILLWATER, Minn. (FOX 9) - In the second day of testimony in the manslaughter trial of a Washington County Sheriff's deputy, jurors got to see and hear the fatal shooting of a suicidal man and the negotiations that led up to the incident.

The jury viewed the original squad camera video and then an enhanced version, which was brightened up to clearly see Ben Evans, who died in the shooting.

The dash camera video of the scene in Lake Elmo from early morning April 12, 2018 showed 23-year-old Evans in his dress firefighter’s uniform, kneeling in the street with a gun to his right temple. The video was synced up with audio from the body-worn camera of Deputy Brian Krook, who is on trial in Stillwater for fatally shooting Evans during the suicidal standoff.

The video captured Evans saying, "I’m not going to force you to make a shooting.” He also said, "I’m not going to kill myself" if he can make a phone call to his ex-girlfriend – a call that never happened.

While talking to another deputy, Deputy Brian Krook stated, "I’m getting uncomfortable with him turning his head, just so you know."

Evans can be seen constantly looking around at the law enforcement who surrounded him. In a BCA interview of Krook, recorded a few days after the shooting, played for the jury, Krook told the special agent, "If he did pull the trigger while he’s got his head turned, the bullet’s going to come at us."

When Evans turned his head again, Krook fired.

In Krook’s interview, he told the BCA, “It’s for sure at me, so I fire. I just fire.”

The video from Lake Elmo showed Evans falling over, then putting the gun back to his head as he laid on his side. Krook then ran up, yelling, "Drop the gun" repeatedly. Evans’ hand dropped to the street and Krook yelled, "He’s pulling it," jumped back and fired three more times.

During Krook’s interview with the BCA, he said the Evans took the magazine out of the gun and tossed it to law enforcement. He was aware Evans had, at most, one round in the chamber, but he said "I didn’t want him to take any of us with him. That was my worry."