Jury deliberating murder case in friendly-fire death of NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen
KEW GARDENS, Queens (WABC) -- A jury is deliberating the murder case involving slain NYPD Detective Brian Simonsen in Queens Supreme Court.
Officers are expected to pack the courtroom for the verdict against Jagger Freeman when it is reached, and Detectives Endowment Association President Paul DiGiacomo will be on hand as well.
Freeman and accomplice Christopher Ransom used a fake gun to hold up a Queens cell phone store in Richmond Hill back on February 12, 2019.
It set in motion what prosecutors called a "terrible chain of events" that resulted in Simonsen's friendly fire death.
When police arrived, authorities say Ransom ran towards them pointing the fake weapon.
Officers fired their own weapons, and the 42-year-old Simonsen, a 19-year veteran of the force, was struck in the chest and killed.
Another officer, Sergeant Matthew Gorman, was injured in his leg.
Ransom was sentenced to 33 years in prison in November after pleading guilty to aggravated manslaughter and robbery.
ALSO READ | Simonsen's widow talks about his life one year after his death
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