Victorian cop 'planted knife' after shooting driver three times
For the first time in almost thirty years, a Victorian police officer is on trial for murder.
Leading Senior Constable Tim Baker was on traffic patrol in 2013 when he spotted a car with stolen number plates.
Inside was Vlado Micetic, a man no stranger to police.
Baker ordered him to get out of the car and empty his pockets.
What happened next is still unclear but the result is beyond question – Baker shot him three times at point blank range.
He claims he acted in self-defence when Micetic pulled a flick knife on him.
The prosecution however, labelled that accusation as a sham.
"Because he was a policeman that didn't mean he was outside the law ... or above the law in some way,” Prosecutor Andrew Tinney told the court.
In a statement written at the time, Baker said he thought Micetic was going to kill him.
But the prosecution rejected that notion, saying a knife wasn't pulled on Baker but was placed on the road after the 44-year-old died.
"The knife found at the scene had in fact been taken there and planted there by the accused man after the shooting,” Mr Tinney added.
The jury was played dash cam and audio of the shooting in which Baker and Micetic could be heard arguing.
As the sound of the three gunshots were heard by the court, the victim's relatives burst into tears.
The trial is expected to last four weeks.
