Defense argues Arlington officer’s deadly force was justified

ARLINGTON, Texas - A jury determining whether a former Arlington police officer should be convicted of manslaughter for accidentally killing a woman will continue deliberations on Monday.

Former Officer Ravinder Singh killed Margarita Brooks in 2019 during a welfare check. But she was not his intended target. He was firing at a charging dog and a bullet ricocheted, striking Brooks. 

RELATED: Arlington officer had other options before fatally shooting woman, witness says

Singh’s attorney hired an independent forensic expert to review the case. That expert testified Friday morning.

"Based on everything we had here, within the totality of circumstances, the environment and the time and distance compression which is huge and human factors, deadly force was the only viable alternative to apply," said Ron Marinelli, a forensic consultant.

Officer Singh’s training supervisor previously told jurors deadly force was not justified, and Singh should have considered other options to subdue the charging dog.

The defense expert criticized Arlington PD’s handling of the case, specifically the assigned lead investigator. 

"They took a guy with three months of experience who admits he only had three hours of in-house death investigations and officer-involved shooting investigations, and they made him the primary case agent even though there were more senior and experienced investigators in the department they could have drawn from," Marinelli said.

RELATED: Family of woman killed by Arlington officer in 2019 files lawsuit

Singh’s attorneys rested their case Friday afternoon, and Singh did not take the stand.

"Do you really want to scar and change a man and send a message to the community that when a man under these circumstances, under these facts, under 5.6 seconds… We are going to say 5.6 seconds this man had so grossly negligent that he did not care enough for Ms. Brooks that he should be scared for the rest of his life and put in jail or subject to probation," said defense attorney Rafael Sierra.

"In the end, whether this dog was traveling at 15mph or 20mph, whether the dog was 18 or 20 feet away from the defendant when he fired, whether the shot was a four-point something degree of deviation or not depending upon the angle. In the end, the moment this defendant committed that crime is the moment he fired those three shots knowing where Margarita Brooks was," said prosecutor Tim Rodgers.

"I was surprised. I would hope the young man would’ve taken the stand. I would really like to hear what he had to say in defense of himself," Brooks’ father and Arlington deputy fire chief, Troy Brooks, said. "We hold no animosity against him, would just like to know what was going on."

Brooks’ family shared more pictures of her and details about the 30-year-old mother, sister and daughter, whose memory they continue to honor.

"Maggie was our youngest child and she has three children. We’re raising two of the boys and the father of the girl is raising her. She’s now 15 and the spitting image of her mom," Troy Brooks said. "I’ve sat on these juries before. I know where they’re at. I can’t read their minds. I know the outcome we want, but it’s completely out of our hands. No matter what happens, we just have to move on with life."

The judge told the jury to avoid consuming media about the case. They will continue deliberations Monday morning at 8:30 a.m.

Singh is charged with criminally negligent homicide. A conviction carries a punishment of up to two years in a state jail.