CHESAPEAKE, Va. — For the second time in three months, Norfolk police officer Edmund Hoyt again stands trial, charged with voluntary manslaughter in the death of Kelvin White, whom he shot and killed while off-duty in 2020.
This August, a group of jurors in Hoyt's first trial could not come to a consensus verdict for his charges, triggering a mistrial which led to Tuesday's new trial.
On January 19, 2020, Hoyt's wife and White confronted each other on a sidewalk near a grocery store in the South Norfolk neighborhood of Chesapeake.
Attorneys representing Hoyt say White threatened Hoyt's wife with a knife, which attorneys for the Commonwealth Attorney's Office say happened after Hoyt's wife said she would mace White after the two crossed one another's path on her way to the grocery store.
Hoyt's wife called him, alerting him of White, when Hoyt drove from their nearby home to intervene.
Here, the Commonwealth Attorney's Office attorney argued Tuesday Hoyt's decisions in these moments took the dispute to "another level," after un-holstering his weapon and telling White to get on the ground.
White also had a noted history of mental health issues, including schizophrenia.
“You already know mental illness is a strong thing. They’re trained for those things. I believe he came out in an attempt to do what he done," brother Gerard White told 13News Now during a recess.
Hoyt holstered his weapon before he and White engaged in physical contact.
The, when they again separated, Hoyt shot him several times.
Witness testimony shared that Hoyt told investigators that day that he had announced he was a law enforcement officer to White, but that he did not have a badge on him, according to one officer.
Evidence shared Tuesday confirmed White had several sharp weapons on his possession, including a box cutter.
The attorney representing Hoyt also cited White's previous history of violent incidents dating back several years.
Gerard White said these incidents don't justify Hoyt's actions against his brother.
“The past is the past, and it still doesn’t give you a pass to come, as a police officer, to a scene with a gun and in civilian clothes and handcuffs," he said.
At the scene, investigators also did not observe any physical injuries to Hoyt's wife.
The trial resumes at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, and is expected to take another three to four days to complete.