Photos by Eric Brady | The Roanoke Times

Roanoke police Officer Daniel Meyer shows the low ready position (a term used by officers) during his testimony Monday.

Joshua Brown testified in Roanoke Circuit Court on Monday.

Joshua Brown walks out of Roanoke Circuit Court with an outburst of obscenities toward Judge William Broadhurst after the judge acquitted Officer Daniel Meyer of unlawful wounding for shooting Brown.

Roanoke police Officer Daniel Meyer (center) reacts after Monday's ruling cleared him of any wrongdoing.

Officer Daniel Meyer believed he was face to face with an armed and dangerous fugitive when he drew his gun and told the man to put his hands in the air.

But in fact, the man he'd chased and cornered was an unarmed 17-year-old named Joshua Brown. When Brown appeared to make a gesture toward his waistband, the officer shot him.

Monday, after hearing testimony from both Brown and Meyer, Roanoke Circuit Court Judge William Broadhurst acquitted the officer of unlawful wounding in the Feb. 14 shooting.

Meyer's case was the second officer-involved shooting that Roanoke Commonwealth's Attorney Donald Caldwell has presented to a grand jury in a career spanning more than 30 years, and the first to produce an indictment.

As Broadhurst announced his decision, Brown, now 18, cursed loudly before he and his family members hurried from the courtroom.

Several police officers patted a smiling Meyer on the back or shook his hand as he made his way toward the door.

"Officer Meyer has to account for his actions and he did," said Meyer's attorney, Chris Kowalczuk. "He was acquitted, as the evidence today clearly indicates he should have been."

During the hearing, Caldwell never argued that Broadhurst should find Meyer guilty. Instead, he told the judge that he would have to weigh whether the officer's actions complied with the legal definition of self-defense.

Caldwell said afterward that the nature of the case -- which required a legal ruling as to whether the shooting was lawful or unlawful -- made it sensible to present to a judge rather than a jury. "A police officer's job is hard and it's dangerous. It's hard to second-guess judgment, especially when a suspect has chosen to flee," the prosecutor said.

According to testimony, on the morning of the shooting, after Meyer parked his cruiser in the 2400 block of Clifton Street Northwest to observe traffic, he spotted a gold car with a license plate obscured by a tinted tag cover. He pulled out after the car and turned on his flashers.

Brown testified that he was driving the borrowed car even though he had no driver's license and was in a juvenile detention program that forbade him from leaving his house without permission. When he saw the police car's lights, he pulled over, jumped out of the car and ran. The passenger riding with him also fled, in the opposite direction.

When Brown jumped out of the car, Meyer glimpsed his face, he said, and was immediately convinced he was looking at a fugitive named Charles Remondo Perdue. Meyer had a wanted poster of Perdue in the car with him, he testified.

At the time, Perdue was a fugitive, charged in separate incidents with the attempted malicious wounding of a substitute high school teacher and the attempted malicious wounding of a police officer. Perdue was caught later that same day, and last week was sentenced to serve more than 17 years in prison.

Believing he'd seen Perdue jump from the car, Meyer gave chase, and eventually caught up with the teenager behind a house.

Brown told the judge that as he tried to catch his breath, he turned to see the officer standing next to him, gun drawn. Meyer yelled at him to put his hands up and get down on the ground, but instead he turned to run, and the officer shot him.

Meyer recalled events differently. He said that Brown raised his hands, then turned and dropped a hand toward his waistband. Meyer said that's when he fired his weapon. Brown was struck in the left buttock.

Brown said he collapsed to the ground, while Meyer said that Brown stumbled but remained standing, finally lying down after the officer ordered him to.

As Kowalczuk cross-examined Brown, he pointed out inconsistencies between the teenager's testimony and his statements right after the shooting. Two firefighters testified that Brown said he was shot as he was reaching for a cellphone, though Brown denied that on the stand.

Brown did not have a gun, nor had he made any verbal threats, Meyer said.

Police found about $600 in Brown's shirt pocket, which Brown said was money left over from a brief stint working as a grocery store cashier two months earlier.

After Brown finished testifying, Kowalczuk asked Broadhurst to dismiss the case, saying Caldwell hadn't provided sufficient evidence to support the unlawful wounding charge. The judge replied, "Police officers just don't get to shoot somebody because they don't stop."

After hearing Meyer's testimony, the judge said that Meyer's account was more believable and better supported by the forensic evidence. "He was in reasonable fear of serious bodily harm," the judge said. "I find the defendant not guilty."

Sgt. Scott Altizer, president of the Roanoke City Police Association, said the association's members are relieved the ordeal is over.

"We're just pleased with the outcome, obviously," Altizer said. "It's been a long process for Officer Meyer, and I know we're glad it is over for him."

The association paid Meyer's legal expenses.

Altizer had not spoken with Meyer after his acquittal, but said he knew that Meyer was looking forward to coming back to work.

Roanoke police Capt. Chris Perkins said after the hearing that the department was not ready to talk about Meyer's acquittal and that Chief Joe Gaskins would make a statement today.

Staff writer Amanda Codispoti contributed to this report.