Closing arguments under way in Cope trial - KSLA News 12 Shreveport, Louisiana News Weather & Sports

Prosecutors have spent five days trying to persuade a Caddo Parish jury that Christopher Cope is a cold-blooded killer.

Cope is accused of gunning down Shreveport Police Sgt. Timothy Prunty outside a southwest Shreveport convenience store in October 2010.

In his closing arguments Tuesday, Prosecutor Dale Cox said Cope meant to kill Prunty.

Cox cited several reasons in support of his case, including that Cope had a fully loaded gun and that he shot every bullet. Cox added that Cope continued to shoot at Prunty after Prunty had fallen to the ground.

Cox also told jurors that Cope meant to kill more than one person, pointing his firearm at the Circle K convenience store clerk who was standing next to Prunty. Prunty told her to run.

Cox said of Prunty's order, "His last act was to save someone else and to not save himself."

Meanwhile, Cope defense attorney Brian Whitaker told the jury to consider all the evidence before them.

Whitaker raised several questions about the medical care Prunty received on the night he was shot. Prunty bled to death, according to a coroner's autopsy.

For these reasons, Whitaker argued that the crime does not rise to the level of first-degree murder and that it would not meet the level of capital punishment, which is what Cope would face if he is found guilty.

Earlier, before closing arguments, the defense and the prosecution spent the morning wrangling over whether to allow testimony from a medical expert called by the defense.

The defense and the prosecution spent the morning wrangling over whether to allow testimony from a medical expert called by the defense.

Cope's defense attorneys wanted to question Dr. James Lauridson, a forensic pathologist, about the survivability of Sgt. Prunty's wounds. The prosecution argued Dr. Lauridson was not qualified to testify as an expert witness, based on lack of expertise and knowledge of the case and crime scene.

Lauridson was ultimately allowed to testify, but only to the survivability if the officer's wounds, and not to Cope's intent.

Sgt. Prunty was shot five times in all, three times in the backs of his legs and once in each foot. Caddo Coroner Dr. Todd Thoma has testified that the wounds were not survivable, and that Prunty bled to death.

Dr. Lauridson testified that Prunty could have survived his wounds if compression had been applied to the artery behind Prunty's kneecap almost immediately. Instead, emergency responders focused on Prunty's femoral artery, further up his leg, believing that's where all the bleeding was coming from.

Two more witnesses are expected to be called to the stand for the defense, but it's expected that closing arguments could begin sometime Tuesday afternoon.

If convicted, Cope faces the possibility of the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

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