HARRIS COUNTY, Texas — A jury heard opening statements Thursday in the murder case against former Harris County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Garrett Hardin.
Hardin is accused of shooting and killing 47-year-old Roderick Brooks in July 2022 while responding to a shoplifting call on FM 1960. He was relieved of duty with the sheriff's office after being indicted by a grand jury about a year ago.
Hardin claims he was acting in self-defense because Brooks grabbed his Taser as they wrestled on the ground.
HCSO released bodycam video of the deadly incident less than a month after it happened. After seeing the video, Brooks' family called it an execution.
"We want the world to know Roderick was executed," his sister Demetria Brooks-Glaze said at the time. "We seen him get executed."
His family said Brooks was stealing shampoo before he was shot and killed.
"Shoplifting does not warrant to kill a man," Brooks-Glaze said. "Anybody can put themselves in our shoes. If it was your loved one, your sister, your brother, your daughter, your son had their face pushed in the hot concrete, and you can answer that question yourself. How would you feel?"
Brooks left behind 10 siblings.
If he's convicted, Hardin would be facing 5 years to 99 years, or life, in prison.
What the body camera shows
In the video, Hardin is seen pulling into a parking lot to follow the man accused of shoplifting.
Hardin gets out of his patrol vehicle and yells at Brooks, "Come here, dude." Brooks responds by running through a gas station parking lot. Hardin chases after Brooks and fires his Taser, striking him. Brooks, who had just run into a car that was pulling into the gas station, stopped moving and Hardin tackled him to the ground losing control of the Taser, the video appears to show.
While Hardin is on top of Brooks' back, Brooks struggles to try and get up and manages to grab the Taser but appears unable to lift his arms.
Hardin responded by telling Brooks, "I'm going to shoot you, put that down. I will f****** shoot you."
Hardin is then seen pulling out his pistol as Brooks loses control of the Taser. While Hardin is still on top of Brooks' back, Brooks appears to grab the Taser again and pulls it toward his own body.
Hardin then fired his pistol, shooting Brooks.
As Brooks lay motionless on the ground, Hardin appeared to apply pressure to the wound while talking on his radio.
"Shots fired," Hardin said in his first radio message. Moments later he spoke on the radio again. "I'm in the gas station parking lot, Bammelwood and Kuykendahl. Suspect's down. Need EMS."
According to HCSO, the shooting happened around 6:21 p.m. Brooks was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:31 p.m.