the family of julian dawkins plans to pursue a civil suit. light is shed on what happen when a zebra attack a zookeeper in the central zoo. a safety inspector basically concludes that the veteran zookeeper who was badly injured here and apparently does not remember anything about the harrowing attack was at fault. they say he broke a cardinal rule -- you never put a dangerous animal and a person in the same space. human error, the report concluded, and not any problem with the enclosure led to the november 18 attack of a zookeeper by a 900 pound zebra. zebra was supposed to be in install. the gate was unlocked and that is the breach of protocol. >> the zookeeper was seriously hurt and was rescued by a coworker. a nearby gazelle was spooked by the attack and died when it ran into a barrier and broke its neck. what is the status of the zookeeper? >> i cannot comment on that. regulations prevent me from commenting. >> she said he was a veteran with decades of experience. >> he would have known the role? >> wrote a call was reached -- protocol wa

glenn pratt miller said she lost her only son for no good reason, 22-year-old julian dawkins, a shuttle driver aspired to own his own auto driving business, but those dreams were snuffed out when 45- year-old craig patterson shot and killed the man last man. dawkins was celebrating his cousin's news of making it to the wnba. he was drunk that night. the defense says dawkins chased him with knife and the sheriff's department was acting in self-defense. prosecutors say the veteran officer knew better, but instead left to get his gun, badge and handcuffs. dawkins father curtis dawkins came out and spoke to us a few hours ago. >> it wasn't unlikely that they would come with a verdict of that nature. as i say, i'm numb at this point, but something has to be done in reference to these time of crimes, not only for my son, but for other victims. >> reporter: well, the courtroom was filled with julian dawkins' family and friends. they are here waiting and say this is a very painful process. craig patterson also had family, friends and co-workers waiting saying that he is a very mild mannered per

greg patterson is charged the death of julian dawkins who died in alexandria last may. they heard an argument that lasted 15 minutes before patterson walked by. patterson returns a short time later. >> he was fumbling with his clothes. >> i heard one shot. .> patterson called 911 defense attorneys questioned julian dawkins about his -- julian dawkins'girlfriend about his alcohol content. the twitter world has a new member tonight. george h.w. bush created an account today. he prays nelson mandela and his first tweet. he is up to date. what can you tell us about the weather? >> it is going to get colder than it has in years that i can remember. >> let's get started. we will share some beautiful images. walter is a falls church. he is a sculptor. he used snow to make this inchworm out of ice. been joined this. >> they are not going to melt anytime soon. >> it is cold and getting colder. let's talk about the snowfall totals. there was snow. you would know that if you are watching or traveling west of the district. temperaturesr it, mainly. snow is falling. low was 44. that

greg patterson killed julian dawkins and now awaits sentencing. says it has house made attempts to free american -- free an american who disappeared seven years ago in march of 2007 in iran. the u.s. government insists that the retired fbi and dea agent was there is a private citizen. ap investigation says he was there as an analyst off the books for the cia. >> we have raised the issue of his whereabouts on a continuous basis. i have personally raised it with the iranians in the course of our discussions. seek hisue to try and release and return to the united states. >> at the white house, jay carney calls the report of the associated press and "the washington post" irresponsible. is that the white house urged that news organizations not to run the story. >> bc residents are looking at the city's nook streetcar -- new streetcar. sam, what happened? >> this is part of the crew back here. the original plan was that they were to have the streetcar on the flatbed truck sitting here before rush hour so they can wager during rush hour and then after ru

that's when he ran into 22-year-old julian dawkins who he described as intoxicated and adepressive. so much so paterson claims he pulled a knife on him. i started running and he started chasing me. patterson headed back to his car to grab his handcuffs. he was ready to make an arrest and went looking for dawkins. the two met up a few weeks away. he said he turned around, charged back at me and took a swing back at me. i thought he had the knife in his hands. i retrieved the weapon and fired. did you know your shot was fatal? >> no. mr. patterson and his ex-wife testified on his behalf, calling us an honest person and good father. the family pastor only tole told us this? >> we just pray. >> now what we just shared was only part of the testimony. i'm going to bring you the other part that includes the cross-examination by the prosecutor. why didn't you call 911 before returning to go back to see dawkins? you're going to hear patterson's answer to that all new at 6:00. i'm david culver, news 4. >>> the south african government is trying to get answers about the fake sign language inte

we heard first from the father of julian dawkins. take a listen. >> right now, words can't describe how i feel. i really don't have a feeling because i'm numb and i know that god has the final say in all things, but right now, just dealing with the situation. it's going to take a lot of support. >> we are very sympathetic to julian dawkins family. my heart goes out to the mother, father and prayers about church. those that can feel the effects of this incident are with the family. >> reporter: patterson shot and killed him may 22nd. he returned to make an arrest, but ended up pulling the trigger. they moved into the sentencing phase of the trial. the mother of dawkins took the stand. she broke down into tears. as she was crying, four of the jurors were sobbing. we are standing by as that sentence comes down. it could happen any minute now. we'll bring it to you live, if we can. the next two hours of news or tweet it for you. for now, live in alexandria, david culver, news 4. >>> a manassas man is behind bars facing nine counts of pos

patterson left the scene, return, and shot and killed 22- year-old julian dawkins. patterson argued he did so in self-defense. jurors did not buy it but they also found they did not act with malice. >> patterson unlawfully and intentionally shot and killed mr. dawkins. they believe jurors cannot get beyond patterson's badge. >> if my son had killed mr. patterson, you would be facing life imprisonment right now. because of the fact that he was a law enforcement agent, i really believe played a big part in the situation. >> even with the verdict of voluntary manslaughter, the jury could have sentenced him -- chosen to sentence him up to 10 years. they decide to recommend six instead. the formal sentencing is set for february. >> seven people were taken to the hospital after a carbon monoxide leak in gaithersburg. when firefighters arrived a begin ventilating the building. authorities believe the problem was caused by a faulty dryer. there's no word on the condition of those taken to the hospital. this just in. d.c. woman said that a woman found dead in a garage is the

the prosecution claims craig patterson deliberately killed julian dawkins, motivated by anger. pattersoner, saying felt disrespected by a man twice his size and half his age. porter conceded he may have been drunk and aggressive, but that does not mean he deserved to die. today, highlighting the fact that patterson did not call 911 in between the argument and shooting. the crux of the matter is the break in action. none of this would have happened if he had just pushed three buttons on his phone. the defense argued the prosecutors's evidence is fraught with problems, saying .itnesses were lying biased witnesses not trial -- not telling the truth. thomas says patterson went home to get handcuffs and returned to arrest dawkins, shooting in self-defense. she says his call to 911 after the shooting and the remorse afterwords negates malice and premeditation. the jury is considering for different verdicts. first-degree murder, second, manslaughter, or not guilty. the prosecution says malice existed, the defense said it did not. live in alexandria, jeff goldberg. >> howard county pol

they say he acted in self- defense a miss trying to arrest julian dawkins for breach of the peace. the defense will begin bringing forward its witnesses, including a few members of the arlington county sheriff's office. jeff goldberg, abc 7 news. mcdonnell reposes new changes to improve mental health services. he wants $30 million in state funding to create a crisis task force following the deaths of the son of virginia state senator craig deeds. this happened less than one day after he had been released from emergency custody. virginia mental health officials have announced other changes. >> crews are working to restore electricity to people in the area. customers in4000 the dark in fairfax and prince william counties. b.g.e. reporting less than 50 affected customers. a check of the traffic situation. traffic, ase is of far as rush-hour, light volume out there. a lot of people didn't go to work today. some on the map, but it is not showing anything as far as traffic. there is no delayed traveling southbound this evening. we have to watch out for icy conditions as temperatures cont

craig patterson is charged with the murder of julian dawkins.ki dawkins worked as a driver for pbs. it happened during a late-night argument between the two in alexandria. patterson was off-duty at the time. >>> two senators are calling for cameras to be put on trains after this month's deadly derailment in new york city. charles assumer and richard bloomen that wi ee bloomenthal want them aimed at the driver and the tracks. four people were killed and 60 others injured. the train's operators told investigators he fell into a daze at the controls. several civil lawsuits have already been filed, so far no charges, no criminal charges have been filed. >>> 4:48 now. black friday and cyber monday are part of the holiday shopping tradition. did you know today there is another major deal day called green monday. some retailers call it cyber monday two and it brings in a lot of cash. a record spending $1 billion on this day alone. fatwallet.com predicts that record could be broken this year with sites running discounts between 30% and 50%. >> all this

one pointe court at he was approached by julian dawkins who asked to re-was and what he was doing in the neighborhood. he identified himself as an officer and an argument followed. he said, i live here and i will be back to which he replied, i told you not to come back around here. he pulled a knife and chased him. i'm in danger. i'm afraid. he's going to stab me. he went to his car to get handcuffs to make an arrest and he returned where he saw him trying to hide. he fired his weapon with one shot. he repeatedly highlighted his lack of experience at making street arrests, dealing with volatile situations or using his gun on duty. he was reputedly and firmly questioned why he did not call 911 before returning to the scene to which patterson responded, i wanted to have eyes on him first before calling 911. defense triedthe to strike the case but the judge said it was that break of time between the argument and the shooting that merits the murder charges going forward to a jury. heo today on the stand, admitted that he now knows at the time he did not have the authority to arrest him b

the prosecution making the case that after craig patterson and julian dawkins got into an altercation in alexandria may 22nd that patterson went home to get his gun. his legal team is arguing the off-duty deputy shot dawkins in self-defense. one more witness testifying for the prosecution tomorrow. then the defense supp. >>> a private athletic coach has been arrested for inappropriate contact with a student. today montgomery county police arrested daniel sirotkin of germantown. they say he had inappropriate contact with a teenager he was tutoring. police say he tutored several high school students in the bethesda and potomac areas, charged with two counts of sex abuse on a minor and third degree sex offense. police would like to hear from parents to see if there might be any other alleged victims out there. >>> prepping for winter weather like today can be costly. a review by the news 4 i team finds local communities can rack up big removing even small amounts of ice and snow. our scott macfarlane is on the storm team 4 weather patio with the results. >> reporter: even in the mile wea