BUFFALO, N.Y. — The manslaughter trial for a New York State trooper charged with killing a man in downtown Buffalo after a high-speed car chase began Thursday in Erie County court.
Prosecutors from the Attorney General's Office painted Trooper Nigro's actions as unnecessary while defense lawyers argued he acted on his belief that his life and others' were at risk.
Ultimately, Judge James Bargnesi will decide whether Trooper Nigro is guilty or not. The trial is slated for 10 days.
Trooper Anthony Nigro IV was indicted on charges of first and second-degree manslaughter in June of 2022 after an investigation into the Feb. 12, 2022 incident by the Attorney General's Office of Special Investigations.
The indictment alleged that Trooper Nigro shot and killed James Huber after a high-speed chase with state police that started along the I-90 in the Town of Brant, but ultimately ran from Dunkirk to Buffalo, and ended near the intersection of East Eagle Street and Washington Street.
That location was very familiar to Matthew Dinato, who testified Thursday that as he was about to enter his nearby apartment, the driver of a tan Chevy Malibu, which he had just witnessed speeding on the I-190 told him: "Merry Christmas. I love you."
Minutes later, Dinato would watch as Trooper Nigro pulled his vehicle in front of the sedan, got out, gun drawn, and shouted at the driver, "Get out the ******* vehicle." The driver, later identified as James Huber, did not comply.
As seen in body-worn camera footage Trooper Nigro then reaches into the car and seconds later the car accelerates backward. Two gunshots are fired and the car, with Mr. Huber inside, travels into a guardrail and flips into a degraded parking ramp at the nearby One M&T Plaza.
Prosecutors questioned Thursday whether Trooper Nigro was ever in danger when Huber's car started accelerating backward, which may have warranted the use of deadly force. They contend he wasn't.
Trooper Nigro is seen in the body-cam footage being thrown from the car. Dinato also testified that Nigro hit his BMW and left three dents in the trunk.
Trooper Nigro's defense attorney Andrew Quinn argued that Nigro could have easily been dragged under the vehicle as it drove backward.
Judge Bargnesi will have to weigh the circumstances.
Two New York State troopers, Sgt. David Plaza and Trooper Andrew Lipuma, also provided testimony on Thursday. Both detailed the lengthy car chase involving the same tan sedan with Pennsylvania plates driven by Huber.
Trooper Plaza stated that the sedan was clocked on radar going over 100 mph on the I-90. The speed limit on the state highway is 65 mph.
Plaza added that the driver was first spotted headed eastbound on the I-90, then westbound, and then eastbound again indicating the driver may have used the turnarounds on the Thruway so he radioed ahead to warn the next trooper.
Trooper Lipuma testified that the high-speed chase which he registered at 112 at one point, then proceeded along the Thruway, the 219, back onto the Thruway and eventually the I-190.
At one point, Lipuma said he attempted to pull the car over, but instead, testified that the driver waved a peace sign out the window and sped off.
Lipuma added that the driver, later identified as James Huber, repeatedly swerved in between cars, split traffic, and at one point hit Trooper Nigro's state police cruiser when he attempted to get into the left lane.
The prosecution noted, however, that no one was hurt, nor did Huber show a weapon at any time during the pursuit, noting that Trooper Nigro's attempt to stop the driver happened after the chase had been terminated, which Lipuma acknowledged.
Both troopers testified, however, that the termination of a chase doesn't preclude a member of state police from patrolling an area for a suspect, but rather that any search must be conducted following traffic safety laws.
Prosecutors presented a compilation of surveillance video from around downtown Buffalo that shows both Trooper Nigro and Lipuma following the tan sedan for several minutes as well as the incident itself captured from multiple angles.
Attorney Quinn stated that when Trooper Nigro reached into the sedan he was attempting to remove the driver from the vehicle, as he was trained.
The case against Trooper Nigro is one of two the Attorney General's Office is currently at trial for, the other being New York City Police Officer Errick Allen.