Trial date set for officer charged with killing black man
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A trial date has been set for a white Nashville police officer charged with fatally shooting an armed black man during a foot chase in 2018.
The trial for Andrew Delke, 25, is set to begin March 16, according to an order filed by Judge Monte Watkins on Thursday.
Delke has pleaded not guilty to charges he shot and killed Daniel Hambrick from behind as Hambrick ran from officers. Delke pulled into an apartment parking lot after seeing a car he mistook for one he had been following, an arrest affidavit from the July 2018 confrontation said. Hambrick was in the area at the time and began to run, according to the document. Delke is accused of fatally shooting him in the back, torso and head as he fled.
Delke’s attorney has said the officer acted in line with his training and Tennessee law in response to “an armed suspect who ignored repeated orders to drop his gun.” District Attorney General Glenn Funk has argued Delke had alternatives, adding the officer could have stopped, sought cover and called for help.
The case sparked outcry that eventually led to the creation of a citizen oversight board for Nashville’s police force.
Hambrick's family filed a lawsuit last March against Delke and Nashville's government seeking $30 million and alleging Hambrick's shooting was at least partly motivated by race. A police department spokesman called the lawsuit an attack containing misinformation.
