Former McKeesport police Officer Chuck Thomas took the witness stand Thursday, describing the moments he was shot and the realization that his fellow officer, Sean Sluganski, had been killed.
The emotional testimony came before a lengthy round of questioning from the defense, which challenged the officers’ efforts to take defendant Jonathan Morris into custody.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Trial underway for man accused of shooting, killing McKeesport police officer
Defense attorneys suggested Thomas and Sluganski were too aggressive with Morris, who was experiencing a mental health crisis.
During his testimony, prosecutors played video of an interview Thomas gave to a county police detective from his hospital bed.
“I’m telling him, ‘Slug, stay with me. Stay with me, bro.’ And I hear more shots and think he’s coming back to us,” Thomas said.
In another portion of the interview, Thomas explained that the officers were only trying to help Morris.
“We’re just trying to help someone who served. We weren’t trying to hurt him. We were trying to get him to the hospital,” he said.
Thomas also showed jurors the scars on his face and described the bullet fragments that remain in his hand — nearly four years after prosecutors say Morris shot him.
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Thomas testified that he and Sluganski followed Morris in their patrol cars after Morris’ mother called 911. She told dispatchers her son was experiencing a violent PTSD episode and wanted him to be involuntarily committed under Pennsylvania’s mental health law, commonly known as a 302.
The officers tried multiple times to block Morris in with their vehicles. Thomas said they repeatedly told Morris they were there to help, that he was not in trouble and that they wanted to take him to the VA.
Prosecutors say Morris then opened fire. Thomas described the moment he realized he had been shot, telling jurors it happened so quickly that it felt like he had been kicked in the face by a horse. He said he thought he was going to die before hearing a woman tell him, “Stay with me, sir.”
Moments later, Thomas learned Sluganski had also been shot.
Thomas saw his fellow officer with his head in a woman’s lap and noticed he was losing color. He became emotional on the witness stand while describing the moment he realized his friend was dying.
Before Thomas’ testimony, prosecutors showed jurors video of the final moments of the shootout.
The video shows Morris lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to his leg. When a McKeesport police officer arrives, both begin firing. Morris then rolls across the street and appears to throw his gun before officers take him into custody.
The trial resumes tomorrow.
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