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By Gary L. Wright
The Charlotte Observer

CHARLOTTE — Charlotte-Mecklenburg police Officer Kayvan Hazrati stared into the eyes of Christopher Ellerbe, the man accused of shooting him in the forehead.
Ellerbe, charged in the shootings of two police officers nearly two years ago, is defending himself in his trial. On Friday, he was cross-examining Hazrati about the day police came to arrest him.
"Did you want to be a hero?" Ellerbe asked.
Hazrati, who still suffers pain from the bullet that pushed bone fragments into his brain, replied, "No."
Hazrati was shot while trying to serve a rape warrant on Ellerbe in north Charlotte. Ellerbe, of Sumter County, S.C., had been accused of raping his girlfriend's 18-year-old daughter.
Under cross-examination by Ellerbe, Hazrati said he had heard a gunshot and tried to knock a door down with his shoulder.
"That's when the bullet that came from your gun hit me in the head," he told Ellerbe.
The bullet went about 3 inches into Hazrati's brain. A bullet fired at Officer William Parks bounced off his helmet.
Hazrati testified for about two hours Friday, telling jurors how he was shot April 5, 2006, and what his life has been like since. But it was Ellerbe's questioning of Hazrati that provided the most drama.
Ellerbe asked Hazrati whether he had acted professionally on that day. Yes, Hazrati replied.
Ellerbe asked whether Hazrati had pulled his gun. Hazrati couldn't recall.
When Hazrati said he had stopped taking depression medication before the shooting, Ellerbe asked him whether that could have caused him to act irrationally that day.
"No," Hazrati said, "it would not."
Ellerbe's cross-examination of the officer will resume today.
Ellerbe, 34, is charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder. If convicted, he faces seven to 32 years in prison on each count.

A life changed
On Friday, under questioning by Assistant District Attorney Barry Cook, Hazrati talked about what has happened to him since the shooting.
"I sustained a gunshot wound to the head that has changed my life," the 39-year-old officer told the jury.
"I have constant headaches. My shoulder has hurt since that day. I may look healed. But I'm not."
Hazrati talked about undergoing vision therapy, physical therapy, occupational therapy and vocational therapy. He talked about having trouble concentrating and how easily he tires.
"I used to work out all the time," he said. "I fatigue more. I have to take frequent naps."
He said he stutters now and speaks more slowly.
"I have short-term memory problems. My wife has to tell me a couple of times to do something before I do it. But I've gotten better."
Hazrati told the jurors he has filed for medical retirement.
At times he appeared to be having difficulty on the stand. He rubbed his shoulders, neck and head. He sometimes closed his eyes. He drank cup after cup of water.
Hazrati told jurors he doesn't remember a lot of what happened after he was shot. He recalled going in and out of consciousness as he was whisked to a patrol car and taken to the hospital.
But the officer was able to tell jurors what he was doing at the time of the shooting.
Hazrati said he was waiting by a door at the side of the house while fellow officers tried to get into the house from the back. He wanted to make sure the suspect didn't escape through that door.
Then Hazrati said he heard a gunshot. He thought the other officers were being fired upon.
"I guess instinct just took over," he said.
Using his left leg first, Hazrati kicked through the door.
"I remember feeling frustrated that I couldn't get in there to help my friends and teammates," he recalled. "Then I used my right leg and kicked through the door. Then I used my shoulder to try to push the door in.
"It never opened. When I lowered my shoulder, that was the point when I sustained the gunshot wound."
Ellerbe has told jurors he didn't know police were trying to serve a warrant on him. He said he thought intruders were breaking into his brother's home.
But Hazrati told jurors he shouted "Charlotte police! Charlotte police!" before trying to bust the door down.
"I remember screaming it at the top of my lungs," Hazrati said. "I didn't want to get shot."
Officer Kayvan Hazrati points to his bullet wound during testimony at the Mecklenburg courthouse Friday. Charlotte Observer Photo by Todd Sumlin

Wire Service

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