Edin Kulic was driving his cab through the Loop, on the hunt for his next fare, when something dramatic caught his eye: two men dashing across Clark Street, one chasing the other.
Kulic pulled over. He watched Cmdr. Paul Bauer gain speed on his target, Shomari Legghette.
“The gentleman behind the first one was kind of running, (he) looked like police to me, so it was interesting,” he testified Friday at Legghette’s trial for Bauer’s murder. Kulic said the men appeared to fight, then went down a steep stairwell outside the Thompson Center.
Then came the volley of gunfire.
Two years later, video from the security camera in Kulic’s taxi was played for the jury hearing the case.
Jurors saw images of the quick chase across Clark,and just moments later heard the unmistakable sound: seven gunshots, separate and distinct, in quick succession.
Judge Erica Reddick warned spectators beforehand that the audio might be disturbing to some. Bauer’s widow, Erin, took the opportunity to leave the room.
After Bauer’s death in February 2018, police hailed Kulic in particular as an exemplary witness. Not only did his taxi camera capture the gunfire, Kulic himself took cellphone video of Legghette being taken into custody and police recovering his gun.
His testimony on the trial’s fourth day likely will prove crucial for prosecutors as well. Kulic said he instantly recognized the man giving chase — Bauer — was a police officer. And he said he did not see or hear any second gun fired on the plaza outside the Thompson Center.
That would seem to counter the defense’s two main arguments: that Legghette did not know Bauer was a cop when he shot him, and that someone besides Legghette fired shots down the stairwell that day.
Earlier Friday, state police firearms expert Jennifer Sher testified that all six fired cartridge cases recovered after Bauer’s shooting trace back to Legghette’s gun.
The testimony would again seem to leave precious little wiggle room for the defense’s theory of a second shooter.
All three officers who responded to the stairwell have denied under oath that they fired shots or heard any gunfire after they heard the initial series of shots from the stairwell. And no other eyewitnesses so far have supported the theory of a second shooter.
But the defense is sure to note that there were seven shots fired in the stairwell, and only six cartridge casings recovered. And on cross-examination, the state firearms expert testified that she did not analyze any other weapons related to the scene.
Sher also testified that cartridge casings often bounce or roll after they are ejected, and can easily be inadvertently kicked or otherwise mistakenly moved around.
Shomari Legghette trial coverage
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