Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on June 27, 2017

Attorneys for Lincoln Rutledge spent another day trying to convince a Franklin County jury to spare his life for shooting and killing a Columbus Police SWAT officer. (WSYX/WTTE)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX/WTTE) -- Attorneys for Lincoln Rutledge spent another day trying to convince a Franklin County jury to spare his life for shooting and killing a Columbus Police SWAT officer.

The same jury found Rutledge guilty of aggravated murder and eight other counts in the death of Officer Steve Smith.

Friends testified Tuesday, saying they could not imagine that Rutledge would be able to do something like this. They called him laid-back and said he was an outdoorsman who enjoyed off-roading and shared a love of Jeeps. But friends acknowledge that Rutledge had changed and was struggling with psychological problems.

Shawn Brown, of Knoxville, Tennessee, described himself as Rutledge's best friend. Brown had learned through other friends that authorities had a warrant to pick him up for a mental evaluation. At the same time Rutledge had fled to Missouri, Brown paid for a plane ticket to send his friend back to Columbus. After the violence, Brown blamed himself.

"Every badge, every cruiser, every law enforcement officer that we passed had a black stripe across their badge and it was because of what my best friend did," he testified. "I bought the freaking plane ticket that brought him back here."

Also on the stand was a psychologist who treated Rutledge. She said he suffered from delusions, paranoia and anxiety and may not have been able to process it when SWAT officers tried to serve a warrant on him in April of last year. Dr. Galit Ashkenazi speculated on what Rutledge may have been thinking.

"Maybe its the mafia coming after me. Maybe they're trying to assassinate me," she said. "At that point, he doesn't see anything. He's just hearing contradictory things and he thinks someone is there to hurt him."

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Friends, psychologist testify on behalf of convicted cop killer during mitigation - ABC6OnYourSide.com

Category: Ashkenazi
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