Popcorn toss key in trial of 2014 Florida theater shooting

By CURT ANDERSON
AP Legal Affairs Writer

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The role of a tossed bag of movie popcorn played a central role Monday as a trial opened for a retired Florida police captain who fatally shot a man in a theater eight years ago. The question isn’t whether Curtis Reeves shot and killed Chad Oulson at the theater on Jan. 13, 2014. It’s whether Reeves felt threatened enough by Oulson to justify shooting after the two argued over Oulson’s cellphone use in the theater. Defense attorneys say it wasn’t the tossed popcorn but that Reeves felt threatened enough by Oulson to fire his handgun in self-defense. Trial is expected to last about three weeks.