Hearing may settle use-of-force experts at Rittenhouse trial

A judge may decide at a hearing Monday whether use-of-force experts can testify at Kyle Rittenhouse s trial for shooting three people during a protest against police brutality in Wisconsin last year.

The hearing is likely the last before Rittenhouse goes on trial Nov. 1 for the shootings that came during chaotic demonstrations in Kenosha on Aug. 25, 2020, two days after police in that city shot a Black man, Jacob Blake, while responding to a domestic disturbance.

Rittenhouse, 18, of Antioch Illinois was among several people who responded to calls on social media to take up arms and come to Kenosha to respond to the protests. Rittenhouse is charged with homicide and other crimes in the fatal shootings of Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and the wounding of Gaige Grosskreutz.

Rittenhouse's attorneys are seeking testimony from use-of-force expert John Black to bolster their case that Rittenhouse acted in self-defense. Prosecutors have asked Judge Bruce Schroeder to disqualify Black, arguing that his expertise is in police, not civilian, use of force and is not relevant to Rittenhouse's actions.

Black previewed his testimony at a hearing in early October. Monday's hearing will include testimony from Robert Willis, a use-of-force expert whom Assistant District Attorney Thomas Binger has said he will use if Black is allowed to testify.

Other motions remain for Schroeder to decide before trial. One, from prosecutors, asks Schroeder to forbid defense attorneys from describing the three men Rittenhouse shot as rioters, looters or arsonists. Binger argues there's no proof any of the three were engaged in such activities the night they were shot.

Prosecutors also want Schroeder to block any reference to Rosenbaum's and Huber's criminal records.

They are also seeking to stop the defense from introducing any evidence that police offered water to Rittenhouse and other armed citizens, or that they said, “We appreciate you guys, we really do,” to them.

Rittenhouse attorney Mark Richards argued that such testimony is relevant to whether Rittenhouse was acting recklessly by being on the streets of Kenosha with a weapon that night.

“If the conduct was so obviously dangerous, it seems logical that law enforcement would have either removed the defendant from the situation via arrest, or informed him that he was to leave the area because of his actions,” Richards wrote in a motion. “They did neither.”

Many conservatives have flocked to support Rittenhouse, calling him a patriot and making him a symbol for gun rights and raising $2 million for his bail. Others, including some liberals and activists, portray him as a domestic terrorist and say he made a volatile situation worse.

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