NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A motions hearing continued Monday for Andrew Delke, the decommissioned Metro police officer charged with murder in the 2018 killing of Daniel Hambrick.
The hearing began Friday afternoon in Judge Monte Watkins’ courtroom. Judge Watkins will ultimately decide what evidence can be used in the trial next month.
Much of Monday's debate focused on the defense's argument that there may have been footage of the shooting from at least one other camera in a "void area," and that video wasn't retained by investigators. A private investigator, Johnny Lawrence, spoke at the hearing to discuss the void area.
A former housing authority employee, Joseph Edenfield, said on Friday that it wasn't captured on camera because a pole was inoperable at the time after it had been hit by lightning.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigations agent Steven Kennard, who was the lead on the case, testified. He could not be there last week because of the Joseph Daniels trial.
Delke's attorney David Raybin questioned Kennard on why he didn't ask more questions about the missing camera because the man who gave him the video is a former police department employee.
Kennard said he felt the cameras that were in operation captured the incident.
Watch the first portion of Monday's hearing below:
Watch the second portion of Monday's hearing below:
Delke's attorney also showed surveillance video of Hambrick's passengers, saying the video shows them rummaging through the vehicle after the incident. This raises the question whether evidence was removed.
On Friday, former District Attorney Torry Johnson was asked if Delke had probable cause to continue pursuing after Hambrick drove onto the shoulder of the interstate to get around a bus. Johnson said once he became armed, he was a threat to Delke and anybody in the vicinity.
Hambrick’s mother, Vickie, was shocked Johnson was called an expert. Her spokesperson, attorney Joy Kimbrough, said it wasn’t fair, saying she’s never known him to try a case, calling him a privileged individual who won the position based on politics.
Daniel Hambrick’s cousin, Sam Hambrick, said the arguments were frustrating.
“We’re just worried about the facts, and what the world’s seen, and that’s him getting gunned down,” Hambrick said.
Raybin also showed video of Daniel Hambrick’s passengers going back to the vehicle after the initial pursuit before the shooting. “It appeared they were going into the car, you could argue they were taking out moving things,” Kennard said.
Sam Hambrick does not believe they were getting rid of evidence. “That’s irrelevant. A man lost his life. He may be looking for a fishing pole, he may be looking for a phone charger,” Hambrick said.
Hambrick said the hearing has been draining for Daniel Hambrick’s mom, Vickie, who had to leave the courtroom twice because she felt like she was reliving her son’s death again.
Hambrick said, “Whatever happened before the shooting— that’s irrelevant with us.”
Delke's attorney couldn’t respond to Hambrick's comments because of a gag order. The hearing recessed for the day by 2:30 p.m. and will pick back up on June 15.
The judge has already heard 55 motions in this case and more are expected to come. The trial is set to start on July 12 after it was pushed back because of the pandemic.
