Officers Detail Moments After Fishburn Shooting

VALPARAISO, Ind. -- Indianapolis police officers who shot Brian Reese, 37, after Officer Jason Fishburn was shot in a foot chase recounted the exchange Thursday as the trial moved into its fourth day.

Police and prosecutors said Reese critically wounded Fishburn on July 10, 2008, as officers chased him in the 800 block of Euclid Avenue.

Detective Jeffrey Wood said he came across Reese during the chase, and that Reese raised his gun toward him. Wood said he fired twice, striking Reese in the shoulder.

That's when Wood said he realized Fishburn was missing. Officer Jerry Piland, Fishburn's partner, picked up the story there.

"He (Fishburn) was laying there unconscious, not doing well, barely breathing," he said. "We had to take care of him and package him up, so he could get to the hospital and have a chance at living."

Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi said it was clear from the officers' testimony that Reese intended to kill Fishburn, 6News' Derrik Thomas reported.

"There was one moment in time when he was unable to runaway, and that's when he switched from flight to fight, when he went from runner to shooter," he said. "He was one-on-one with Jason in the alley and he shot him, because he could win that battle."

Earlier, defense attorney David Shircliff told the jury that shoddy crime lab work by technicians missed valuable evidence for their client.

Prosecutors plan to introduce testimony and evidence on Friday that they claim shows Reese's DNA was on the gun used in the shooting of Fishburn.

Reese was charged with attempted murder, resisting law enforcement and carrying a handgun without a license.

The trial was moved to Porter County, in far northwestern Indiana, earlier this year because of pre-trial publicity in the Indianapolis area. The trial is expected to last for a week.