Cop Murder Trial: Suspect removed from witness stand claiming he 'was targeted'
Police officer murder suspect Michael Lopez kicked off witness stand
The man charged with fatally shooting Melvindale Police Cpl. Mohamed Said was kicked off the witness stand after claiming he was being targeted by the officer from a previous family grievance.
FOX 2 - The man accused of fatally shooting Melvindale police Cpl. Mohamed Said in 2024 took the stand in his own defense Monday.
What we know:
Michael Lopez, known for erratic behavior over the course of the trial, including multiple outbursts, was kicked off the witness stand today by the judge during cross-examination.
Lopez recounted the encounter with Said in the summer of 2024. The 45-year-old is charged with murdering a peace officer, possession of cocaine, and numerous weapons offenses.
When the prosecutor began asking him about his choice to run, Lopez claimed his family had filed a previous grievance against Said, which he had previously agreed not to bring up during his testimony,
"You knew that the officer was going to be investigating you for the gun (you had on you) right?" the prosecutor said.
"Yes. And I knew that, he was the one who my family filed a grievance," he said.
"I knew you couldn't comply with the judge's command," the prosecutor said.
"I knew that this man was targeting me," Lopez said. "I'm just telling the truth. You don't want to hear the truth?"
"That is a lie," the prosecutor said.
"My family's father grievance on him, and he targeted him."
"No, this is not right. This is unjust. This is unrighteous," he said.
At that point, Lopez was escorted off the stand and taken from court.
"Judge. I apologize to the court and to the jury for them to disregard the specific statements that he's made," the prosecutor said. "I'm also asking that his entire testimony be stricken, as I am not able to complete my cross-examination."
What we don't know:
A 15-minute recess was held, followed by Judge Bridget Hathaway ending proceedings for the day but not commenting about the testimony or whether Lopez will be able to continue questioning.
Lopez encountered Said after leaving a local motel and encountered him outside The Finish Line car wash, 2621 Oakwood Road. He had flicked a cigarette and was told to pick it up by Said.
Lopez testified that he gets nervous around police officers and claimed to have PTSD. Lopez tried to explain why he ran and said he was trying to toss his handgun.
Dig deeper:
One of the defense's arguments has been, that the Taser Said had was black and was mistaken by Lopez for a gun.
"I thought I got shot in the back," he said, describing running away from Said. "I fell to the ground, turned around, and he was in my face with a black gun to my face. He was on top of me. As soon as I had the opportunity, I protected myself from dying. I thought he was going to kill me in that yard.
"I felt like I was about to die with him holding what I thought was a gun in his hand."
"What did you do?" his attorney asked.
"I shot him," Lopez said. "I was on my back and I was able to get him off of me and create enough distance to shoot. But he was standing over me, and I thought that he was about to shoot me and kill me on that floor. I thought he would. He shot me at once, already in my back."
Lopez had been shot with a Taser when he was running from Said, and claimed he thought he had been shot in the back — and when coming face-to-face with Said, added the Taser looked like a gun.
"I seen a very black gun," he said. "I created some distance enough for me to defend myself. I don't wish it on nobody. I felt like I was forced into a position to take somebody's life to defend my own.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life."
But the prosecutor brought up previous incidents with Lopez including one where he was Tased before by a police, and previous incidents running from officers.
"You would agree with me that you have a common scheme of running from the police when you are about to get caught," the prosecutor said. "We've got three incidences where you've committed crimes. Police are about to arrest you and you run away, Correct?"
"Correct," Lopez said.
"Okay, so this is a common scheme of yours. You don't want to get caught," said the prosecutor. "You don't want to get locked up. So you decide I'm going to run from the police and fight with them. Correct?"
At that point Lopez began bring up the alleged grievance his family had with Cpl. Said - causing the hearing to abruptly end.