DETROIT – Dramatic and disturbing video was played in court showing the moments before and after a 7-year-old girl was shot to death in Detroit.
Aiyana Jones was caught in the chaos of a police takedown in May of 2010 and the entire incident was caught on tape.
Detroit police were looking for a murder suspect. They'd been doing surveillance on a house on Detroit's east side and they also had a film crew from a reality show with them.
"The First 48", which airs on cable, was filming when police entered a home, during the chaos a gun discharged and Jones was killed.
The officer holding that gun was Joseph Weekly.
He is now on trial for involuntary manslaughter and Tuesday the video footage from the film crew became an important part of the trial.
RAW: Footage of police raid during Aiyana Jones shooting
The Video:
Cops are outside of the home, they are looking for a murder suspect, the date on the video says May 16th, its 12:43 in the morning. There are barking dogs in the back ground, there are always barking dogs at police take downs, it seems.
Various officers can be heard talking, "If we can gain access from inside to hit it we will do so. Pretty big house. Yeah. Any kids on the inside were aware of? Don't know."
And then there's the sound of organized chaos, it's what cops do to surprise suspects, to disorient them, frighten them, and very push them into submission when raiding a house.
The cops enter.
There's a flash, an explosion of some sort, a flash bang to create surprise and fear, then a shot.
Next in the video you can see that someone has come out onto the roof from an upstairs window, then more organized chaos can be seen and heard, but this time it's the real thing.
In the aftermath Aiayna Jones is dead.
There has never been an argument of who fired the fatal shot, but it's how that fatal shot was fired that is in question in court.
Officer Weekly could see 15 years in prison if convicted of involuntary manslaughter. He also faces a charge of careless discharge of a firearm resulting in a death.