Homeowner Shoots Police Officer and Found Not Guilty of Murder in Midland

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This is a tragic story.

This week, a Midland homeowner was found not guilty of murder in a fatal police officer shooting at his residence back in 2019.

The jury took just 90 minutes to acquit David Wilson of murdering Midland police Officer Nathan Heidelberg. According to the Associated Press:

Wilson’s attorneys had told jurors that he didn’t know Heidelberg was a police officer, mistook him for an intruder and shot him in self-defense in the predawn hours of March 5, 2019.

Prosecutors offered evidence showing Heidelberg, a five-year police veteran, identified himself as a police officer while still outside the home’s front door.

But defense attorneys noted that Wilson hid in a closet in fear of a burglar. They said a Texas Ranger and a police trainee with Heidelberg could not rule out the possibility that Wilson did not hear Heidelberg identify himself as an officer.

4 officers responded to an early morning security alarm alert at Wilson's home according to an AP report.

In a court brief obtained by TV station KETK, when the officers showed up at the residence, the brief states the homeowners had "no idea who is outside, what they are saying, or what they are doing. There were no red and blue police lights.”

Wow, if the cops showed up in the early morning hours and they didn't have the lights going, that sounds like they dropped the ball and that is a shame.

Again, this is just a tragedy. It sounds like there was a lot of confusion for the homeowner who was trying to defend himself and his family. I cannot imagine what was going through his mind while all these events were happening in the middle of the night.

The jury apparently agreed it was a situation where the homeowner did not know he was shooting a police officer amid all the confusion.