Jurors see video of arrest at scene of Monroeville police shooting

Jamal Brooks told a jury Wednesday that video of a man blasting a Monroeville police sergeant with gunfire revealed nothing distinctive about the shooter.

The person firing 16 times into the officer’s patrol vehicle, Brooks claimed, “could be anyone.”

Anyone, that is, but him.

On Thursday, video that night from the body-worn cameras of the arresting officers seemed clear as it was played for the jury in an Allegheny County courtroom.

It showed a man who appeared to be Brooks lying on the ground after the shooting, being handcuffed and getting picked up and placed in the back of a patrol car.

The suspect’s voice — heard in the recordings as he answered the officers’ questions — seemed to match the soft-spoken Brooks, who has spoken extensively in court this week.

Brooks, 33, of Aliquippa, is acting as his own lawyer at trial as he defends himself against charges of assault of a law enforcement officer, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and carrying a firearm without a license.

Allegheny County Deputy District Attorney Ilan Zur opened the prosecution’s case Wednesday by calling the evidence against Brooks “overwhelming.”

“Almost the entire case is on video,” Zur told jurors.

Brooks disagreed.

“It could be anyone,” Brooks said in his opening statement. “You can’t see who the individual is.”

Monroeville police were dispatched around 9:13 p.m. for an armed robbery at Crumbl, a cookie store in Miracle Mile Shopping Center, when MacDonald spotted a man walking along Monroeville Boulevard near the scene.

The man had taken an orange construction vest out of his bag and put it on, MacDonald told the jury on Wednesday.

The sergeant spun his car around to speak with the man. But immediately upon stopping his SUV, MacDonald came under fire.

Investigators said the suspect fired 16 shots. Two of them struck MacDonald — in his left elbow and left buttock.

Because the suspect was wearing the orange reflective vest, MacDonald testified, it was easy to track him.

Other Monroeville police officers, who converged on Stonecliffe Drive, immediately took Brooks into custody.

In the footage played Thursday, Brooks could be seen lying on a sidewalk, wearing all dark clothing and an orange vest.

Initially, the suspect was prone, but his face became visible when Monroeville police Officer Jeffrey Vertullo stood him up.

Vertullo told the jury that Brooks had a bag over his shoulder that night.

Inside, officers found cash and a flashlight.

Vertullo also testified that two guns were found nearby between two cars — a revolver and a handgun.

As the video footage played, Vertullo could be heard asking the suspect several questions: whether he was alone, whether he had any other weapons or if he’d been shot.

On cross-examination, Brooks asked Vertullo why he would ask that question.

“To see if you needed any potential aid,” the officer responded.

The case, before Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Elliot Howsie, is expected to resume on Tuesday.