Lawyers want a change of venue in trial of Nashville police Officer Andrew Delke
Lawyers representing a Nashville police officer charged with murder want the trial to be moved out of the city.
Officer Andrew Delke, 26, appeared in court Thursday when his attorney David Raybin asked for a hearing to be set to debate a new trial location. Judge Monte Watkins agreed to consider the matter.
Delke was charged with first-degree murder after he fatally shot Daniel Hambrick, 25, during a July 2018 foot chase in North Nashville. Surveillance video of the shooting shows Delke, who is white, pointing his gun while Hambrick, who was black, ran away with his back turned.
Officer Andrew Delke enters the courtroom for a hearing before Judge Monte Watkins in Nashville on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Delke was charged with first-degree murder after he shot and killed Daniel Hambrick during a foot pursuit in North Nashville.
Officer Andrew Delke enters the courtroom for a hearing before Judge Monte Watkins in Nashville on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2019. Delke was charged with first-degree murder after he shot and killed Daniel Hambrick during a foot pursuit in North Nashville. (Photo: Shelley Mays / The Tennessean )
The shooting spurred protests and outrage, and inflamed tensions between police and activists, who have accused the department of racial bias. Delke is the first Nashville police officer ever charged with murder after an on-duty shooting.
Prosecutor Roger Moore said Thursday that the district attorney’s office wanted to set a trial for January or February of next year. A debate over the trial’s location would likely push that timeline back.
A Nov. 13 hearing was set to discuss a change of venue.
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