HOUSTON (AP) - Attorneys for a Bellaire police officer say he was not reckless but responding to his training and believed he was in danger when he shot an aspiring baseball player in 2008.
But prosecutors Tuesday urged jurors in Houston to convict Sgt. Jeffrey Cotton, saying errors by the lawman and other officers resulted in Robert Tolan, an innocent and unarmed man, being shot.
Jurors began deliberating after closing arguments in the four-day trial.
If convicted, Cotton could receive a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
The shooting prompted claims of racial profiling, which Bellaire police have denied.
Cotton is white. Tolan, who's black, is the son of former major league baseball player Bobby Tolan.
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