DADE CITY, Fla. — A retired Florida police captain was acquitted Friday of murder in the fatal shooting of a fellow moviegoer during an argument over the use of a cellphone eight years ago.
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Curtis Reeves, 79, a retired SWAT commander in Tampa, had been charged with second-degree murder in the Jan. 13, 2014, shooting death of Chad Oulson, 43, The Tampa Bay Times reported.
A four-man, two-woman jury took about 3 1/2 hours Friday night to acquit Reeves, the newspaper reported. Deliberations began earlier in the day.
Reeves never denied shooting Oulson but said he was acting in self-defense, according to WFLA-TV.
“This is great,” Reeves told the Times. “It’s been a long eight years. I couldn’t wait for it to be over with.
“It was a sad day for everybody on both sides,” Reeves added. “It never should have happened. I never wanted it to happen.”
In the courtroom gallery, Oulson’s widow, Nicole Oulson, wept as the verdict was read, the Times reported. She left the court with her mother and friends, the newspaper reported.
During a matinee showing of the movie “Lone Survivor” at a theater in the Tampa suburb of Wesley Chapel, Reeves, then 71, confronted Chad Oulson, who was sitting in a seat in front of him with his wife, WTVT-TV reported.
According to the original arrest documents filed by the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, Reeves was unhappy that Chad Oulson was using his cellphone, the television station reported.
Reeves told Chad Oulson to put the phone away, but the younger man ignored him and continued to scroll on his device, the Times reported.
Reeves then went to the theater lobby and complained to a manager. Returning to his seat, Reeves noticed that Chad Oulson had put away his cellphone and commented that had he done that earlier, the older man would not have had to tell the manager, the newspaper reported.
The men exchanged heated words and Chad Oulson reportedly threw popcorn at Reeves’ face, WTVT reported. Reeves immediately reached into his pocket, drew a .380 caliber pistol and fired, striking Oulson in the chest, the Times reported.
Nicole Oulson had raised her hand in an attempt to get her husband to sit down, and the bullet hit her finger before striking Chad Oulson, the Times reported.
During closing arguments Friday defense attorney Richard Escobar said that Chad Oulson made Reeves reasonably believe his life was in danger by turning, yelling and reaching toward him, according to The Associated Press. Escobar argued that Reeves decided to shoot based on his nearly 30 years in law enforcement and hours of training on the justifiable use of deadly force.
Prosecutor Scott Rosenwasser during closing arguments that Reeves killed Chad Oulson because he threw popcorn in his face, angering him because it violated his self-image as an “alpha male,” according to the AP.
“He didn’t fear anything,” Rosenwasser said, according to the Times. “‘Man killed over popcorn toss’ — that sounds like a sensationalized headline, something you’d read in big, bold type at a newsstand. But in this case, it’s absolutely, unfortunately true.”
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism