The jury in Connecticut State Trooper Brian North's trial has found him not guilty of manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Mubarak Soulemane.
The jury also found him not guilty of lesser charges including second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.
Trooper North and his wife shared an emotional embrace after the not guilty verdict was read. Shortly after, they walked out of the courthouse and into an awaiting car hand-in-hand.
Defense attorney Riccio said Trooper North is still very shaken by what transpired, and "it will live with him [North] for the rest of his life."
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"We are very happy with the verdict and the result," Riccio said. "Though this is definitely not a time for celebration because a young man still lost his life."
His attorney went on to say that Trooper North still thinks about the shooting every day.
Soulemane's family members were very emotional after the verdict was read, and a couple of them walked outside of the courtroom in tears.
Family attorney Mark Arons said it was extremely difficult for them to hear the verdict.
"We commend the jury for listening to all the evidence, taking it seriously. We disagree obviously with the result, but we accept it," Arons said.
Arons said the family will now take time to move on and decompress.
"The trooper gets to go on with his life and Mubarak is never coming back," Arons told NBC Connecticut.
In a statement, the Office of the Inspector General said they are disappointed with the outcome of the case, but they respect the jury's decision.
State Police Interim Colonel Loughman issued the following statement after the verdict:
"We are all saddened by the loss of life. We offer our condolences to the family of Mubarak Soulemane for their loss.
We thank the women and men of the jury for their service during this trial. The role of the jury listening to hours of testimony, reviewing many pieces of evidence, and weighing all the witness statements, was a demanding and time-consuming task. We appreciate the tireless effort and attention to detail required for the jury's deliberations.
We recognize the stress this process has had on Trooper North and his family, and we commend Trooper North for his professionalism during this trial.
The Connecticut State Police remain committed to upholding the highest standards, as we serve the State of Connecticut, and its people."
The jury has been deliberating since the case was handed over to them on Wednesday afternoon. The verdict was read around 3 p.m. on Friday.
On Friday morning, the judge said the jury asked the court to hear North's testimony again. They then returned to the courtroom to hear it. After a lunch break, the jury went back to deliberating.
The civil case is pending and Arons said he plans to be in touch with the Attorney General's Office in a couple weeks about next steps.
Background on the trial
North shot Soulemane on Jan. 15, 2020, after the teen displayed a knife and he has been charged with first-degree manslaughter with a firearm. North has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The jury was tasked with deciding if Trooper North acted in extreme indifference to human life when he shot Soulemane seven times.
On Jan. 15, 2020, Soulemane displayed a knife inside an AT&T store in Norwalk, stole his Lyft driver's vehicle and led police on a high-speed pursuit, according to authorities. Troopers were able to box in Soulemane in West Haven, and an officer shattered the window.
When North testified in his defense last Friday, he said he fired at Soulemane because he believed other officers were in danger.
“And what does it show after the window was broken? Mr. Soulemane looked to his right side, turned to his right side and moved towards his right side,” defense attorney Frank Riccio said.
“As Trooper North testified, ‘seven shots because that’s how I was trained. Seven shots because it was one brief engagement, I shoot until the threat is over,'” Riccio said.
North's testimony is around four hours long.
During the trial, Inspector General Robert Devlin focused the jurors’ attention on body-worn camera footage and argued that if North was acting in defense of other officers, why did he not communicate that to his superiors as the footage was capturing his brief statement?
“This is a white trooper that has just shot and probably killed a young Black man. This is a big, big, big deal, OK. The bosses are going to want to know, this North’s golden opportunity to say, 'Look, I shot because I thought a cop was in danger,'” Devlin said.
