Prosecutors show dash cam video of shooting in trial of Officer Hamilton

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Testimony continued Friday in the trial of a Minneapolis police officer who fired a shot at a car full of people.

Officer Efrem Hamilton's defense is he was acting in self-defense - the way officers are trained when a threat is perceived.

Prosecutors believe he put six innocent lives in danger by reacting far too quickly. Friday, prosecutors showed jurors the dash camera footage from Hamilton's squad car as it collided with a BMW sedan that was backing away from a chaotic shooting scene.

The video showed how quickly it all happened. As soon as Hamilton turned onto 3rd Avenue, he immediately hit the reversing car. Then, the car’s engine revved. Just seconds after the collision, he got out of the squad car and fired a shot.

The car's driver, Caylea Wade, testified Thursday she was terrified. She can be heard on Hamilton's body camera video apologizing to him, calmly explaining she was told to back out by another officer.

"Everybody just keep your hands up," he told them. “You didn't see me coming with my lights and stuff?"  A reply isn’t audible.

Later, he's asked by someone else at the scene if he fired his gun to which he answers, “Yep, I took a shot at them.”