Iraq Vet Testifies About Being Shot By Deputy In Videotaped Confrontation

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) _ An Iraq war veteran who was shot by a deputy after a high-speed chase testified under cross-examimation that he didn't stop a friend from driving even though the friend

Tuesday, June 5th 2007, 7:21 am

By: News On 6

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (AP) _ An Iraq war veteran who was shot by a deputy after a high-speed chase testified under cross-examimation that he didn't stop a friend from driving even though the friend had been drinking heavily.

Senior Airman Elio Carrion was shot three times by Ivory J. Webb, then a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department deputy, in a videotaped confrontation after the car crashed into a concrete wall.

Carrion, 23, testified Monday that the deputy swore repeatedly at him as he tried to explain that he was in the military and was not a threat as he lay near the passenger-side door.

``I said, 'I'm in the military, I'm in the (expletive) military. Believe me, we mean you no harm,''' Carrion testified. ``And the officer says, 'OK, get up' and I repeat that I'm going to get up, and as I get up, he shoots me.''

Former San Bernardino County Sheriff's Deputy Ivory J. Webb Jr., 46, has pleaded not guilty to felony charges of voluntary attempted manslaughter and assault with a firearm. If convicted, he could face more than 18 years in prison.

He is no longer a member of the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

Carrion testified that Webb ordered him to get up from the ground twice after the crash and then shot him three times when he tried to comply.

Defense attorney Michael Schwartz questioned Carrion about why he didn't do more to stop his friend, Luis Escobedo, from taking the wheel of a Corvette.

Carrion, a military policemen, acknowledged he didn't call 911 to report his friend, even after a deputy began chasing them.

``You don't reach over and take the keys out of the ignition, do you?'' Schwartz asked.

``No,'' Carrion said.

``You don't fight with him, push him to stop driving, do you? You don't tell him, 'Don't go any further because we're going to get arrested,' did you?'' Schwartz asked.

``No, I just said, 'Stop, stop,''' Carrion said.

Webb, 46, has pleaded not guilty to the charges filed after the Jan. 29, 2006 shooting. If convicted, he could face more than 18 years in prison.

Schwartz replayed the amateur video to challenge Carrion's testimony that he only lifted his hands once and was flat on the ground the entire time.

Carrion showed no emotion as he watched the footage. His relatives in the audience appeared to struggle to hold back tears as they watched him being shot in the chest, left leg and left shoulder.

Schwartz said during his opening statement that Webb may have told Carrion, ``Don't get up!''

He also said that just seconds before the gunfire, Carrion's hand moved toward his jacket pocket _ something police often believe means a suspect is going for a weapon.

Authorities later determined Carrion was unarmed.

Carrion testified that Webb never told him to stay on the ground and said he never moved his hand toward his jacket.