DADE CITY, Fla. (AP) - Prosecutors and defense attorneys have finished providing evidence in a hearing to determine whether a retired police officer acted in self-defense when he shot a man in a movie theater in 2014.
A judge will decide whether Curtis Reeves should be immune from prosecution under Florida’s controversial stand your ground statute. The two-week hearing ended Friday. The judge will rule by March 10.
The law says a person has no duty to retreat when faced with a violent confrontation and can use deadly force if he or she fears death or great bodily harm.
Reeves shot 43-year-old Chad Oulson during an argument as movie previews played.
Prosecutors say the 74-year-old Reeves provoked the confrontation. Reeves’ attorneys say Oulson’s actions made him think he was in danger of serious assault.
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