Body camera video of Nicolae Miu's arrest shown during day 4 of Apple River stabbing trial
HUDSON, Wis. — The prosecution in the Nicolae Miu Apple River stabbing trial showed new body camera footage Thursday morning, including the moments of Miu's arrest.
Sergeant Benjamin Trebian from the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office took the stand; he was one of the many officers who responded to the scene on the day of the stabbing. After getting to the scene, he was eventually asked to go to the tubing exit in Somerset where Miu had been apprehended.
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The body camera footage shows Trebian approaching a small group of people. Miu is standing in the middle, and an officer tells him to put his hands behind his back. Miu is wearing a camo shirt, sunglasses, and a baseball cap.
The other officer asks if Miu has any weapons on him, to which Miu responds "no."
The officers then move Miu away from the group and towards a squad car. They compare his appearance to a photo of a suspect they have, and note that he's wearing the same silver chain and shorts as in the photograph. Trebian notes that Miu "has some pretty good markings on his hands," which Trebian later described as cuts on his knuckles and hands.
The prosecution stopped the video shortly after.
Later, the prosecution, defense, and the judge discussed how much of video of Miu's arrest could be shown to the jury; the judge determined that video from Sergeant Scott Knudson could be shown up until the moment Miu is told of the reason for his arrest.
Knudson's video shows Miu in the backseat of a squad car.
"I hear somebody got stabbed and I fit the description," he tells Knudson.
"We're working through that now," Knudson responds.
The prosecution said they would use the video when they brought forward Knudson later in the afternoon.
The video of the arrest wasn't the only footage the prosecution showed Thursday morning; they showed body camera video from Chase Durand, a patrol sergeant with St. Croix County, who was coordinating the response to the scene.
Durand's body camera video shows the chaotic moments on the river after the stabbing. He arrived at the scene and first helped man who had been stabbed and a woman in an innertube who had a stab wound. Durand told the courtroom that he didn't start his body camera video until after he helped the woman get onto shore.
The video starts with Durand in the water making his way towards a group of people helping A.J. Martin, whose stomach was cut open by Miu. In the video, a woman is encouraging Martin by telling him to squeeze her hand.
A man in a yellow shirt then approaches Durand and describes Miu as "just some rando on the river."
Durand then runs into the woods to try and stop a few people from looking for Miu. He tells them that there is a K9 coming, and the dog will have trouble tracking the scent if multiple people go into the woods.
Much of the video shows Durand on the banks of the river, speaking to dispatch and coordinating a response. He relays how the witnesses describe Miu — as an older man, in his 50s or 60s, armed with a knife.