Trooper cross-examined by alleged shooter

An Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper testified in Hancock County Common Pleas Court Tuesday that he was sucker punched just before a man shot him near Interstate 75 last October. Trooper Joseph Brobst faced cross-examination by the man charged with shooting him in the groin with Brobst's own gun during a struggle after a traffic stop in I-75. Robert T. Hathorn Jr., 42, of Muskegon, Michigan, has been charged with felonious assault of a police officer, a first-degree felony; aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony; and four other felony charges. Hathorn is representing himself in the trial. Hancock County Common Pleas Judge Reginald J. Routson is presiding over the trial, which continues today with more witness testimony. Brobst had pulled Hathorn over on I-75 between County Road 99 and U.S. 224 on Oct. 6 for a speeding violation. Brobst then approached Hathorn's vehicle on foot. When he smelled an odor of burnt and raw marijuana from the Chevrolet Suburban, Brobst had Hathorn step out of the vehicle and walk back toward his cruiser with him, the trooper testified Tuesday on direct examination. He was going to issue Hathorn — who had been driving 86 mph in a 70 mph zone — a speed warning and a citation for failing to wear a seat belt. Hathorn was calm and compliant at first, though he declined to go in the cruiser as Brobst first suggested he do, Brobst testified. Hathorn sat on a guardrail. Because of the marijuana odor in the car, Brobst wanted to conduct a search of the vehicle. Patrol policy required that at least one more trooper be present during a search. Hathorn, apparently unaware of the rule, asked what they were waiting for, Brobst testified on direct examination. After Brobst explained they were waiting for another trooper to arrive, Hathorn hit him in the face and then wrapped both arms around him in a bear-hug, Brobst testified. Brobst said he bear-hugged Hathorn in return to prevent Hathorn from grabbing his gun or Taser, he testified. Most of the struggle between the two occurred outside the frame of a video taken by a camera in Brobst's cruiser. At one point the struggle between the two moves into the video frame, and then the tussle moves back toward a guardrail off I-75 and they move out of view. They tumbled over the guardrail, Brobst landing on his back with Hathorn on top of him, Brobst testified. At one point, Brobst felt a twisting of his belt — to which his gun holster was fastened — and then he felt a "warm sensation" and "extreme pain" in the left side of his groin, he testified on direct examination. "I knew I was hit," he said. The gun, still in the holster, had been fired and Brobst's hands were nowhere near the gun, he testified. At one point during the video, with Brobst and Hathorn out of view, one can hear Brobst screaming in agony and yelling for Hathorn to get off of him. Moments later, Hathorn can be seen on the video going around the rear of the Suburban, getting inside and driving away. Hathorn, representing himself in the trial, conducted the cross-examination of Brobst. Hathorn focused on a discrepancy with Brobst's testimony in which Brobst had at one point after the incident told an investigator that he was shot before falling over the guardrail. Brobst, on cross-examination, testified that the trauma of the incident had affected his memory of it. In his opening statement Tuesday morning, Hathhorn was reproved multiple times by Routson for not following trial rules. Hathorn was most sternly corrected when he portrayed himself to jurors as self-represented because he could not afford an expensive lawyer. Routson: "Excuse me Mr. Hathorn, I'm going to stop (it) right there. I made it clear to you, and I want the jurors to know that we discussed this, and I told you very clearly that if you could not afford an attorney" — Hathorn tried unsuccessfully to interrupt — "I would appoint you an attorney. So you're not going to leave an impression with the jurors in this court that I denied you counsel." Hathorn: "I'm not saying that." Routson: "That's exactly what you said." Moments later, Hathorn said he was sorry. Wilin: 419-427-8413