No one disputes that Michael Drejka fatally shot Markeis McGlockton 13 months ago in a fight that began over a handicapped parking space — it's on video seen worldwide.
The fight at his manslaughter trial, which began Monday, will hinge on whether jurors determine Drejka pulled the trigger justifiably after McGlockton knocked him to the ground in July 2018, putting him in fear for his life, or instigated the fight by cursing at McGlockton's girlfriend, causing an unarmed McGlockton to come to her aid. There is also a question of whether Drejka should have realized before he fired that McGlockton was backing away.
Prosecutors, defense attorneys and the judge are picking six jurors whose task could be complicated by Florida's controversial "stand your ground law" and by race: Drejka is white and McGlockton was black.
"Within the context of all of these similar cases throughout the country where you've seen these unarmed black men being shot by armed white men who claim to have been threatened somehow, it's going to come in," trial consultant Geri Satin told the Tampa Bay Times. She is not involved in the case. Drejka, 49, could get 30 years if convicted. Jury selection is expected to take days.
On July 19, 2018, McGlockton's girlfriend, Britany Jacobs, pulled their car into a handicapped parking space outside a Clearwater convenience store. She sat in the car with two of their young children, while McGlockton went inside with their 5-year-old son.
The soundless store security video shows the altercation began about a minute later. Drejka pulled up in his SUV, parking perpendicular to Jacobs. Drejka got out, walked to the back of Jacobs' car, looked at the license plate, and then went to the front, apparently looking for a handicapped sticker there. He appears to say something to Jacobs and points to two empty spaces nearby.
He then walked to Jacobs' window. He spoke from about a foot away, gesturing with his hands. Jacobs says Drejka cursed at her. A man entering the store about 15 feet (4.5 meters) away stops to look and a woman glances over.
Someone told McGlockton about the confrontation and he exited the store. He walked toward Drejka and, just as Jacobs got out of the car, shoved Drejka with both hands. Drejka landed on his back and McGlockton took a step toward him. Drejka sat up, pulled his gun from his right front pocket and pointed it at McGlockton, who took three steps back, his arms at his side. Drejka fired, hitting McGlockton, who ran back into the store clutching his chest. Witnesses said he collapsed in front of his son, waiting inside.
Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri initially refused to charge Drejka, citing the stand your ground law. It says people can use deadly force if they believe they are in imminent danger of death or great bodily harm and have no obligation to retreat. But the law doesn't apply if the shooter instigates the initial altercation. Prosecutors believe Drejka was the aggressor and overruled Gualtieri. Circuit Judge Joseph Bulone rejected an attempt by Drejka's attorneys to call Gualtieri as a witness.
Prosecutors will be allowed to call a truck driver who says Drejka threatened to shoot him months earlier in a confrontation over the same parking spot. They will also be allowed to play the video in slow motion, to show that McGlockton was retreating. Drejka's attorney have argued he didn't have that ability during the seconds between being pushed to the ground and the shot being fired.
The trial is expected to last two to three weeks.
TOKYO (AP) — The American envoy to the United Nations called Friday for countries armed with atomic weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament as she visited the atomic bomb museum in Nagasaki, Japan.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who became the first U.S. cabinet member to visit Nagasaki, stressed the importance of dialogue and diplomacy amid a growing nuclear threat in the region.
“We must continue to work together to create an environment for nuclear disarmament. We must continue to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons in every corner of the world,” she said after a tour of the atomic bomb museum.
“For those of us who already have those weapons, we must pursue arms control. We can and must work to ensure that Nagasaki is the last place to ever experience the horror of nuclear weapons,” she added, standing in front of colorful hanging origami cranes, a symbol of peace.
The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, destroying the city and killing 140,000 people. A second attack three days later on Nagasaki killed 70,000 more people. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II and its nearly half-century of aggression in Asia.
Nagasaki Gov. Kengo Oishi said in a statement that he believed Thomas-Greenfield's visit and her first-person experience at the museum “will be a strong message in promoting momentum of nuclear disarmament for the international society at a time the world faces a severe environment surrounding atomic weapons.”
Oishi said he conveyed to the ambassador the increasingly important role of Nagasaki and Hiroshima in emphasizing the need of nuclear disarmament.
Thomas-Greenfield's visit to Japan comes on the heels of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's official visit to the United States last week and is aimed at deepening Washington's trilateral ties with Tokyo and Seoul. During her visit to South Korea earlier this week, she held talks with South Korean officials, met with defectors from North Korea and visited the demilitarized zone.
The ambassador said the United States is looking into setting up a new mechanism for monitoring North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Russia and China have thwarted U.S.-led efforts to step up U.N. sanctions on North Korea over its ballistic missile testing since 2022, underscoring a deepening divide between permanent Security Council members over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
She said it would be “optimal” to launch the new system next month, though it is uncertain if that is possible.
The U.N. Security Council established a committee to monitor sanctions, and the mandate for its panel of experts to investigate violations had been renewed for 14 years until last month, when Russia vetoed another renewal.
In its most recent report, the panel of experts said it is investigating 58 suspected North Korean cyberattacks between 2017 and 2023 valued at approximately $3 billion, with the money reportedly being used to help fund its weapons development.
The United States, Japan and South Korea have been deepening security ties amid growing tension in the region from North Korea and China.
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, shake hands during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, right, speaks to Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, second right, as they wait for a meeting with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Rahm Emanuel, U.S. Ambassador to Japan, right, walk to meet Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, talk prior to a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
U.S. Ambassador to United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, left, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, right, prepare to talk during a meeting Friday, April 19, 2024, at prime minister's office in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, Pool)
