Self-defense or the cold-blooded murder of a police officer doing his job?

That’s the choice the jury in the murder trial of Sonny Almanza must make when members begin deliberating Thursday morning.

Attorneys for both sides presented their closing statements Wednesday afternoon, after Almanza himself took the stand and said he didn’t realize he’d shot a cop.

Almanza is accused of shooting Arvada Police Ofc. Dillon Vakoff in the mouth with an AR-15 rifle during a family dispute in a crime which shocked the front range in the fall of 2022.

Vakoff was killed instantly.

Almanza “brought an assault rifle to a fist fight” the early morning of Sept. 11, said Senior Deputy District Attorney Tracy Schroeder.

He fired ten shots that night, she said, including eight in the direction of Vakoff and a single shot which hit his ex-girlfriend’s sister in the leg.

Almanza claimed he did not know that police officers were on scene and that he thought he was firing at his ex-girlfriend’s brother, whom he believed was going to kill him.

“He wanted to assist his family and scare them (his ex-girlfriend’s family) away. He had no idea that Officer Vakoff was even there,” said defense attorney Nancy Holton.

She asked for the jury to find Almanza not guilty of the murder charges against him, and alleged that prosecutors overcharged the case.

Earlier Wednesday, Almanza took the stand in his defense.

Clad in a dark suit and tie, he said the scene was so chaotic, he didn’t know that he was shooting at a police officer until moments after Vakoff lay bleeding on the street.

He said that when a family brawl got out of hand, he went inside his apartment to get an AR-15 which was being stored there by his ex-girlfriend’s brother for protection after a previous break-in.

Almanza, 32, said his sister called police to come help, but he didn’t know they had arrived.

“There’s no cars, there’s no lights, there’s no sirens and people are still acting chaotic,” he said. “People don’t act that way when police are around,” he testified.

“I was just scared for myself scared for the people I was with. I wanted to keep myself and my family protected,” he said as to why he retrieved the AR-15.

Almanza said he first shot into the air and then was shot himself. That’s when he shot into the crowd, hitting Vakoff, according to testimony.

“After you shoot, do you become of aware of whom you shot?” asked Holton.

“Yes,” Almanza answered.

Vakoff, 27, was dead within minutes after he and his partner, Ofc. Daniel Garibay, arrived at 6753 West 51st Ave. to what started out as a routine family dispute that quickly escalated into violence.

Almanza faces eight charges, including first-degree murder of a peace officer with extreme indifference, first-degree murder after deliberation, first-degree murder with extreme indifference, attempted first-degree murder after deliberation, and attempted first-degree murder with extreme indifference, among other counts.

The defendant was the last witness in a trial which has been at times emotional and disturbing as police and family who were on scene at around 1:55 a.m. Sept. 11, 2021 described an alcohol-fueled dispute that erupted over who was watching Almanza’s two daughters — whom he shared custody with their mother, Lexus Lopez.

Almanza testified that the members of Lopez’ family were “mostly alcoholics” and said a few of them carried guns often.

The night Vakoff was killed, Almanza and Lopez started arguing by text over custody of their children, it was revealed in court. It was Lopez’ turn to watch their two small daughters, but when Almanza found out that the girls were in the care of her teenaged cousins, he went to pick them up, he testified. He said she went into a rage and texted: “We’re on our way. You wanted war. This is war.”

Vakoff’s girlfriend and family members, as well as members of the Arvada Police Department, have been present at the trial daily. Almanza’s relatives have also been in the courtroom for the proceedings.

The trial started a week-and-a-half ago with two days of jury selection during which potential jurors were asked whether they had law enforcement in their family, among other questions.

Jurors begin deliberations Thursday morning.