CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Attorneys in the case of a former Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officer criminally charged with killing a man in 2017 unexpectedly rested their case Monday.
Both the prosecution and defense decided to not call any more witnesses for testimony Monday despite a plan that originally called for calling Phillip Barker, the former CMPD officer, to the stand.
“When you rest your case, a defendant and you have not done what you have promised the jury your going to do, there better be a good reason for it," Charlotte attorney, Gary Mauney, who is not on this case said.
Barker is charged with involuntary manslaughter after hitting and killing James Short while rushing to an emergency call in 2017. Barker had his lights and sirens on while driving up to 100 mph, investigators said. Short was illegally crossing the street, according to police; however, Barker was going nearly 100 mph in a 35 mph zone, records show.
After testimony wrapped up Monday, WCNC Charlotte's Lexi Wilson spoke exclusively with Short's family.
“'Forgive him so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins,' that’s what he lived by and that’s what he would want us to do, and that’s going to be very difficult but we'll get there because that’s what we believe," Deborah Short, James' mother, told Wilson while sitting on her front porch Monday.
“Michael was a precious spirit, a very precious spirit, a joyful child," she explained. "He was born smiling.”
Frustration for the family does still remain.
"James Michael Short was 10 times the man than the man who ran him over that night," John Short, James' father, said.
The Short family feels their son has been painted in the wrong light during the trial.
“There was a lot more good there than there was irresponsibility," Deborah Short said.
Prosecutors have spent a little over two days making their case that Barker is guilty of involuntary manslaughter. Over the past few days, several witnesses gave their testimony and evidence, including body camera video, was revealed.
Five years since the death of their son, the Short family now awaits a verdict.
Closing arguments are scheduled to begin Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. in the Mecklenburg County courtroom.
Contact Lexi Wilson at lwilson@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.