Forensic experts testify as closing arguments near in trial of slain Chicago police officer

CHICAGO (WGN) — Forensic experts took the stand Thursday in the ongoing murder trial of Steven Montano, as jurors saw additional body cam video that captured the final moments of slain Chicago police officer Andres Vasquez Lasso’s life.

The officer’s family relived the moment inside the Cook County Criminal Courthouse as prosecutors’ evidence piled up against the defendant, Steven Montano. The accused cop killer’s defense team said Thursday that Montano may elect to testify on his own behalf.

Before Thursday’s conclusion of testimony, forensic scientist and firearms expert Marc Pomerance took the stand at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse, sharing his findings from a battery of ballistics testing he conducted in the days and weeks following the 2023 Gage Park killing of CPD Officer Lasso.  

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Pomerance concluded that bullet casings and other evidence recovered from the scene near 52nd and South Spaulding point conclusively to a specific .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. It’s the same .45 caliber pistol police say officers recovered from a wounded Montano in the moments after a deadly foot chase.

Prosecutors allege it was Montano who fired five shots at Lasso, striking him in the leg, arm, and head, killing the 32-year-old officer. 

Lasso’s grieving wife and mother, with a multitude of supporters and fellow officers, watched as prosecutors played Lasso’s body cam footage for the jury. The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the video shows Lasso jumping out of his squad car chasing after Montano, screaming out repeatedly for the suspect to ‘stop.’

One day earlier, two witnesses also took the stand to testify that they heard the slain officer’s commands.

The 21-year-old Montano faces first-degree murder and gun charges.

Closing arguments could begin as early as Friday.