UPDATE: Jurors dismissed from Devon Kraemer trial after not reaching verdict

UPDATE: Jurors dismissed from Devon Kraemer trial after not reaching verdict
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Updated: 1:04 p.m. February 28, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The jury in the Devon Kraemer trial has not reached a verdict after three days of deliberation. The jury sent a note to the judge saying they do not believe any more discussion will change anyone's mind. 

The jury has been dismissed and the judge has declared a mistrial.

The DA will have to decide whether they want to re-try the case. A status update on the case will happen in early April.

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Updated: 12:30 p.m. on February 28, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The jury is still out in the trial for the Brown Deer police officer facing jail time for shooting an unarmed man.

Wednesday marked the third day of deliberations. There’s no disputing Kraemer shot Manuel Burnley Jr. in the back during an arrest in March 2016 after he was escorted off a Milwaukee County bus for unruly behavior.

Kraemer testified she was fearful Burnley Jr. might kill or seriously hurt her and/or her partner. Prosecutors don’t believe her actions were reasonable.

On Tuesday, jurors told the judge they could not come to a unanimous verdict and today they’re still struggling to agree. They had a question for the judge this morning.

If convicted on the aggravated battery charge, Kraemer could face up to ten years in prison.

Stay with CBS 58 for the latest updates on this story on air and online.

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Updated: 12:25 p.m. on February 27, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – It’s day two of deliberations in the trial of a Brown Deer police officer who shot an unarmed bus rider in the back.

Jurors began deliberating again Tuesday around 8:00 a.m. That means jurors have been deliberating for close to eight hours.

What’s at question is Kraemer’s use of deadly force when she arrested Manuel Burnley Jr. in March 2016. She says she shot him because she feared for her life when he resisted arrest. Burnley Jr. says he wasn’t resisting.

Kraemer shot him in the back and Burnley Jr. spent nearly two weeks in the hospital.

She’s facing a felony charge of aggravated battery for the shooting.

If convicted, Kraemer could face up to ten years in prison.

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Updated: 4:30 p.m. on February 26, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The jury has been deliberating for close to five hours in the trial of Brown Deer Police Officer Devon Kraemer. 

There is still no verdict. 

What's in question is Devon Kraemer's decision to shoot Manuel Burlney Jr. when she says he resisted arrest in March 2016. 

Burnley insists he was not resisting. 

In their closing arguments, both lawyers pointed to whether Kraemer's decision to shoot was reasonable. 

If convicted, Kraemer could face up to ten years in prison. 

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Updated: 12:00 p.m. on February 26, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Attorneys are presenting their closing arguments at the trial of Brown Deer Police Officer Devon Kraemer.

Kraemer shot Manuel Burnley Jr. in the back in March 2016 during an arrest for disorderly conduct. He spent almost two weeks in the hospital.
Kraemer took the stand in her own defense last week. She says she shot Burnley Jr. because she feared for her life.

State prosecutors say there was no reason for her to use deadly force. Jury deliberations are expected to start Monday afternoon.

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Updated: 7:30 p.m. on February 23, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The trial for a former Brown Deer police officer is winding down. Closing arguments in Devon Kraemer's trial are expected Monday.

She took the stand for the second day in a row.

The evidentiary portion of the trial is over. After closing arguments happen next week, Kraemer's fate will be in the hands of the jury.

Kraemer said she did not shoot to kill Manuel Burnley Jr.

She told the jury her confrontation with him in March of 2016 was "the fight of her life."

Burnley Jr. was unarmed when Kraemer shot him while arresting him for Disorderly Conduct on a county bus. Kraemer claims Burnley was resisting and she was unsure if he had a gun. Burnley Jr., however, says he was not fighting the officer.

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Updated: 6:40 p.m. on February 22, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Brown Deer Police Officer on trial for shooting an unarmed man took the stand.

Devon Kraemer shot and injured Manuel Burnley Jr. after pulling him off a county bus for disorderly conduct.

On day 9 of the trial, Kraemer talked about what happened in March of 2016. During her testimony, she contradicted several parts of Burnley Jr's account of what happened.

Specifically, Kraemer said Burnley Jr. resisted arrest during her entire confrontation with him, at some points violently.

Burnley Jr. testified earlier in the trial that he was not fighting off the officer and was "just trying to get arrested and get it over with."

Kraemer said during her struggle to arrest Burnley Jr., he pushed her back so hard that it caused her to fly through the air and hit the ground.

Kraemer said Burnley Jr.'s anger and hostile comments led her to believe she was not dealing with a reasonable person.

"I am examining the differences between our size, that's the first thing I noticed - how large this man was in comparison to me. I was taking note of the exaggerated movements. I was well aware of how agitated he was, how hostile he was. He was really, really angry," said Kraemer.

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Updated: 5:40 p.m. on February 21, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The trial for a former police officer who shot a man during an arrest continued on Wednesday with testimony from a "use of force" expert.

For most of the day, a law enforcement and use of force expert took the stand, saying he believes that Devon Kraemer's decision to shoot Manuel Burnley Jr. was justified.

Kraemer is facing aggravated battery charges in the shooting. She was trying to arrest Burnley for disorderly conduct after he was acting unruly on a county bus.

The arrest turned into a struggle, during which Kraemer and her partner were hurt.

Wednesday's expert witness was Robert Willis, a law enforcement expert.

He said a taser or a baton would not have stopped the threat that Kraemer faced when she and her partner Michael Leeman tried to handcuff him.

He also said Kraemer was at risk of being disarmed or seriously injured.

During cross-examination, the State Prosecutor performed a demonstration to try and disprove Willis' point.

The judge says that the trial could last until the middle of next week.

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Updated: 5:17 p.m. on February 20, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Testimony has wrapped for the day in the trial of a former Brown Deer police officer who shot and hurt an unarmed man in March 2016. 

On Tuesday, prosecutors rested their case just before noon. The defense then called their expert witness, Robert Willis, a former Milwaukee police officer and current law enforcement instructor. 

Willis is an expert on defensive and arrest tactics. 

Devon Kraemer is on trial because of her decision to use deadly force on a call in March 2016. She shot Manuel Burnley Jr. in the back while she was arresting him after pulling him off a bus for disorderly conduct. She claims she shot him because she feared for her life while he was resisting arrest. 

Mr. Willis spoke at length Tuesday about why an officer would just use physical force. 

Willis will take the stand again Wednesday morning. 

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Updated: 5:15 p.m. on February 19, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The man shot and injured by a former Brown Deer police officer took the stand Monday in the trial of Devon Kraemer.

Manuel Burnley Jr. testified he was afraid officers were trying to kill him during an arrest in March 2016.

During the cross-examination Monday, Devon Kraemer’s tried to poke holes in Burnley Jr.’s account of what happened before and after the shooting.

They said details of his story have changed over the last two years.

Right after the shooting, the defense claims that Burnley Jr. admitted to investigators he was resisting arrest. During his testimony in the case, Burnley Jr. said he knows he was out of line but that he wasn’t fighting the officers.

The question in the case is about Kraemer’s decision to use deadly force in trying to arrest Burnley Jr.

Defense attorney Michael Steinle asked Burnley Jr. about a comment he made while officers were trying to handcuff him.

“You told them ‘watch out,’ what are they supposed to watch out for,” Steinle asked in court Monday.

“Maybe officer Leeman was trying to trip me and that’s why I said ‘watch out.’ But I didn’t mean watch out in any harmful way,” Burnley Jr. responded.

“’Watch out’ means you’re going to take action, right?” Steinle said.

“’Watch out’ could mean anything,” Burnley Jr. said.

Burnley Jr. is still on the witness stand.

The county bus driver who flagged down the officers for help also took the stand Monday.

Kimberly Richards broke down on the stand while describing the day Burnley Jr. was shot.

Richards had asked police for help when Burnley Jr. started acting unruly on her bus. Officers Kraemer and Leeman responded, pulled Burnley Jr. off the bus and struggled with him as they tried to put him in handcuffs.

During the struggle, Kraemer shot Burnley Jr. She’s now charged with aggravated battery.

On Monday, Richards said she saw Burnley Jr. thrash around and resist arrest and that he was “tossing her around like a Raggedy Ann doll.”

“I heard the young man say he had been shot and there was blood everywhere. I don’t know what happened and then I just pulled off, and I don’t know why,” said former MCTS bus driver Kimberly Richards.

Richards is expected to take the stand again Tuesday.

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Updated: 5:45 p.m. on February 16, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – He was seriously injured by shots fired by former Brown Deer police officer, Devon Kraemer. On Friday, he told his side of the story in court.

Manuel Burnley Jr. testified Friday in the trial of Devon Kraemer, the former Brown Deer police officer who shot him during an arrest in March 2016.

Burnley Jr. says he knows he was out of line when he got pulled off a county bus by the officers in March of 2016.

In his words, he wasn’t trying to threaten the officers but was just “trying to get arrested and get it over.”

A big point of question in the trial has been Burnley’s weight. Video shows him removing his shirt when asked to show the court where he was shot. Burnley is about 5’7” and weighs 370 pounds.

Kraemer said because he was so big, she couldn’t fight back when he resisted her arrest.

She said she feared for her life when she shot him in the back.

But Burnley said he didn’t want to kill the police officers.

Burnley is expected to take the stand again on Monday morning.

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Updated: 5:20 p.m. on February 15, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – A Brown Deer police officer took the stand Thursday to testify in the trial of his former partner, Devon Kraemer.

Officer Michael Leeman was Kraemer’s partner when she shot Manuel Burnley Jr. in March of 2016.

During Thursday’s testimony, the Assistant District Attorney said there are inconsistencies in Leeman’s accounts of what happened the day of the shooting.

What’s at question is Devon Kraemer’s decision to use deadly force. She says she feared for her life when Manuel Burnley Jr. resisted arrest after getting pulled off a bus for disorderly conduct.

Prosecutor James Griffin questioned the difference between statements Officer Leeman made just after the shooting and then slightly different statements he made leading up to the trial.

Prosecutors say Leeman originally told investigators that during a struggle leading up to the shooting, Manuel Burnley Jr. put his hands on his throat but that it wasn’t painful.


The judge has restricted CBS 58 from showing any of the witnesses on the stand. The defense began cross-examining Leeman just before 4 p.m. He’ll take the stand again Friday.


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Updated: 5:30 p.m. on February 14, 2018

For more than four hours on Wednesday, a use-of-force expert took the stand for the prosecution, going over with meticulous detail, Devon Kraemer's decision to shoot Manuel Burnley Jr after he resisted arrest.

The state showed surveillance video from March 2016. It shows Burnley Jr. after he was pulled from a Milwaukee County Transit System bus by Kraemer and her partner.

Burnley Jr. is seen acting unruly when a bus driver couldn't grant him a transfer.

Kraemer responded to the bus driver's call for help and removed Burney Jr. from the bus.

Kraemer is accused of shooting Burnley Jr. in the back while he was lying on his stomach during the attempted arrest.

The expert witness called today, Emanual Kapelsohn, is a firearms expert who trains police officers.

Kapelsohn told both the prosecution and the defense attorneys that he believes Kraemer was not justified to shoot Burnley Jr.

"His actions were those of resisting being handcuffed, not of attacking the officers. This is a huge guy. If he wanted to attack them he could have, with his weight alone," Kapelsohn said.

"I mean if I told you that since 2012, 12 officers have been beaten to death would you agree on that statistic?" asked Chris Macgillis, the defense attorney.

"I think that's right but that doesn't happen with one punch to the face," Kapelsohn said.

Witness testimony will continue Thursday morning.

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Updated: 11:20 a.m. on February 13, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – Attorneys in the Devon Kraemer trial continue to work their way through the jury pool Tuesday.

Kraemer is a former Brown Deer police officer accused of unjustly shooting a man after he was removed from a bus for being unruly in 2016.

Prosecutors say Kraemer shot Manuel Burnley in the back while he was lying on his stomach. He survived.

On Tuesday, potential jurors were quizzed on their experiences with police officers, guns, and fitness.

CBS 58 has reporter Julie Parise in the courtroom covering the trial. Stay tuned on air and online for the latest updates in this developing story.

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Posted: 2:15 p.m. on February 12, 2018

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) – The trial of a former Brown Deer police officer charged in an officer-involved shooting in 2016 is set to begin Monday.

Former Brown Deer Police Officer Devon Kraemer is charged for a March 2016 on-duty shooting.

She was called to respond to an unruly passenger on a county bus. Prosecutors say they charged Kraemer because she shot the suspect while he was laying on his stomach. Kramer said she couldn’t see the man’s left arm and feared for her life. No weapon was found.

The man survived, but lost part of his lung.

Stay with CBS 58 on-air and online for the latest in this developing news story.

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