The trial for the Bucks County man accused of killing Temple police officer Christopher Fitzgerald has begun

The murder trial for the Bucks County man accused of fatally shooting Temple University Police Officer Christopher Fitzgerald began Monday, kicking off proceedings that will revisit a crime that stunned many in the city when it occurred more than two years ago.

Miles Pfeffer, 20, faces the possibility of a life sentence if convicted of charges including murder, murder of a law enforcement officer, and weapons violations. Prosecutors say Pfeffer shot Fitzgerald, 31, multiple times in the face and chest at close range after the officer spotted Pfeffer and two others, dressed in black clothing and wearing face masks, near Temple’s campus, where police had been patrolling with increased vigilance due to a spike in carjackings.

Prosecutors and Pfeffer’s lawyers started picking potential jurors Monday morning, seeking to identify 12 people who will hear evidence in the case and determine Pfeffer’s fate.

Earlier this month in pre-trial proceedings, prosecutors said they have and plan to show jurors video of the shooting, during which Pfeffer allegedly shot Fitzgerald, then stood over him and fired several more times at his head and face.

At one hearing earlier this month, Assistant District Attorney Bob Wainwright played bodycam footage from the first officer who responded to the shooting. The video showed Fitzgerald lying motionless in the middle of the street in a pool of blood as the responding officer tried to revive him and called for help.

Fitzgerald’s relatives, including his father Joel, a former Philadelphia police officer, said the videos and photos from the crime have been difficult to see, but that they believe the evidence will be crucial in holding Pfeffer accountable.

“It’s very important to show the people in the city of Philadelphia what exactly happened to Christopher — how he was murdered," Joel Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald’s widow, Marissa, speaking outside the courthouse earlier this month, added that she and her relatives have long been prepared for the case to reach trial, but that each hearing along the way has stirred up painful memories of the crime.

“Having to see what was done to your husband, nobody should have to see that. ... It’s just emotional, it’s hard,” she said. “Regardless of how many times I have to mentally prepare myself, I’ll never be mentally ready for this.”

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner’s office has declined to seek the death penalty in the case — a decision that Fitzgerald’s relatives have criticized.

Pfeffer’s attorneys, from the Defender Association of Philadelphia, have sought to limit the scope of evidence that will be presented to the jurors. As is typical in many murder cases, they may seek to convince jurors that Pfeffer did not possess the specific intent to kill required to convict him of the most serious charges.

Common Pleas Court Judge Glenn B. Bronson will preside over the proceedings, which are expected to last several days. They are being held in one of the courthouse’s larger rooms to accommodate what is expected to be a sizable crowd of spectators, including Fitzgerald’s former law enforcement colleagues.

The crime occurred shortly after 7 p.m. on Feb. 18, 2023. Prosecutors have said that after Fitzgerald — patrolling alone near campus — spotted Pfeffer and the two other people in masks near 18th Street and Montgomery Avenue, and he announced over police radio that he was going to make a pedestrian stop.

But Pfeffer, a high school senior at the time, ran away and Fitzgerald chased him. Then, after a brief physical struggle, police said, Pfeffer pulled out a pistol, shot Fitzgerald, then stood over the officer and fired at him several more times.

Fitzgerald was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was declared dead. He was a father of four who had worked several jobs in law enforcement before becoming a Temple police officer in 2021.

Pfeffer fled the scene, police said, carjacking a man nearby and driving to his mother’s home in Buckingham Township. He was arrested there the next day.

Pfeffer — a high school senior at the time — has been jailed awaiting trial ever since. Late last year, he was stabbed multiple times by another prisoner inside the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.

Fitzgerald’s relatives have sued Pfeffer and his parents, accusing them of failing to prevent the crime from occurring by allowing Pfeffer to access guns as a teen and failing to address his prior episodes of misbehavior, including making bomb and shooting threats at his Bucks County high school. The lawsuit remains pending in Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas.

Pfeffer’s criminal case is the third in recent months case involving defendants accused of shooting at police.

In May, a city jury convicted Maurice Hill of shooting six officers during a 2019 standoff that effectively took over a city block for hours.

And in January, Hassan Elliott and Khalif Sears pleaded guilty in federal court to a spate of charges connected to the fatal shooting of Philadelphia SWAT Cpl. James O’Connor IV in 2020.