FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The girlfriend of a Miami police officer who is charged with murder testified in a hearing Wednesday in Broward County.
Tiniko Thompson is accused of fatally shooting Officer Carl Patrick in his home last year, but she claims that she shot him in self-defense after they got into a fight.
Thompson was the first to take the stand in her hearing, explaining why she didn't call 911 after the shooting. The hearing is to determine whether Florida's "stand your ground" law is applicable.
"I was in shock. I was in fear of my life," Thompson said. "I wasn't going to tell him, 'Hey, I just shot Carl' so they can come shoot me."
Prosecutor Shari Tate drilled Thompson on her actions after the shooting.
Thompson said she cleaned the blood off herself and did several things because she was in shock and traumatized by what happened. She also took phone calls from Miami police supervisors who were looking for Patrick, never mentioning what had happened.
"Carl decided he was going to pull his gun and try to kill me," Thompson said in her defense.
Patrick was found dead while wearing his police uniform inside his Pembroke Pines home in May 2014.
Thompson, a Miami police public service aide who was Patrick's live-in girlfriend, was arrested on a charge of second-degree murder almost three weeks later.
Police said Thompson shot Patrick and took his cellphone so that he couldn't call for help.
The hearing is expected to continue for several days. A doctor and friends of the victim and Thompson are also expected to take the stand.
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