NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) – The jury watched three police body cam videos of the death of Hank Berry, III in the first full day of testimony in the murder trial of Sgt. Albin Pearson.
Pearson and three other officers responded to Berry’s Nantucket Place home in late December 2019 for his alleged abuse of the 911 system.
They had no arrest or search warrant, and Berry, 43, refused to come outside his home. The videos show when he tried to close his front door, the officers entered and tried to arrest him.
The officers and Berry struggled, and they told him he was under arrest. They warned him he would be tased.
“Why I am being arrested, I didn’t do anything wrong. God help me,” Berry can be heard shouting. He did not comply and got tased. Officer Dwight Pitterson testified that after he tased Berry, Berry was able to take the taser away.
Officer Lemarcus Scott said Berry then pointed the taser at him and another officer. That’s when Pearson shot Berry.
Defense witnesses testified that Pearson tried to revive Berry with CPR and took other life-saving measures. A firefighter/medic testified that he was on scene two minutes after getting the call from police. He tried other methods to save Berry, but he was unable to revive him.
The bullet went in Berry’s back, through his lung and heart, and out his chest. Assistant Chief Medical Examiner Wendy Gunther testified that the wound through the vital organs would have been fatal even with immediate medical attention.
A forensic scientist matched the bullet to Pearson’s service gun, a Glock 21 .45-caliber pistol. She showed the gun, the copper-jacketed bullet and the cartridge casing to the jury.
Once the Commonwealth rested Tuesday afternoon, Pearson’s defense attorney Tim Clancy wanted the second degree murder charge dropped, saying there was no malice, and his client’s defense would be “defense of others” as opposed to “self-defense”.
Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Jeff James said the officers “charged into” Berry’s home without a warrant so their entry was illegal. Visiting Judge Margaret Poles Spencer denied Clancy’s motion.
Pitterson was originally a co-defendant in the case but was found not guilty on all charges last September. Prior to that verdict, Pitterson lost his job with NNPD, but has since been reinstated and testified Tuesday in uniform.
Pearson is on administrative leave without pay pending the trial.
Defense evidence and testimony are set to resume Wednesday at 9 a.m.
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