SSRI Stories Note: The Physicians Desk Reference states that antidepressants can cause a craving for alcohol and can cause alcohol abuse. Also, the liver cannot metabolize the antidepressant and the alcohol simultaneously, thus leading to higher levels of both alcohol and the antidepressant in the human body.

Written By: Rebekka Schramm - CBS Atlanta Reporter

POSTED: 1:23 pm EDT June 24, 2010
UPDATED: 5:48 pm EDT June 24, 2010

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- A jury is expected to begin deliberations Friday in the trial of a former Duluth police officer accused of shooting another officer.

Jay Dailey chose not to testify in his own defense. His attorney rested his case without calling any witnesses.

Jurors did hear Dailey’s voice, however, when prosecutors played audio recordings taken by investigators an hour or so after the Feb. 1, 2008, incident in which Dailey is accused of assaulting a woman he didn’t know, then getting into a gunfight with another police officer.

On the recording, detectives can be heard asking Dailey, “Why did you get in a gunfight?”

“I have no idea. I want to die,” Dailey answered.

Dailey wiped away tears as he listened to the recording. So did his parents who were seated in the row behind him.

Dailey told detectives he drank three-fourths of a pint of vodka just before he flagged down and Leresa Graham on Level Creek Road in Sugar Hill. Graham testified on Wednesday that she thought the officer was hurt. She said she tried to call 911, but that he knocked the phone out of her hand and sprayed pepper spray in her face.

Fulton County Police Cpl. Paul Phillips testified Wednesday that he was driving home in his patrol car when someone flagged him down and told him a man was attacking a woman. Phillips said as he approached, Dailey pointed a gun at him. The two exchanged gunfire. Phillips was shot in the arm. Dailey was shot in the hand.

Gwinnett County Police Detective Gilberto Lorenzo was one of the detectives who interviewed Dailey hours after the incident in the hospital where he was being treated. Dailey’s attorney, Jeff Silz, asked Lorenzo whether Dailey was still too intoxicated to answer questions.

“Did it concern you at all that he also said, 'Yes, I’m also taking Prozac and Lexapro'?” asked Sliz.

“No, didn’t concern me,” answered Lorenzo.

“Are you aware of how alcohol reacts with antidepressants?” asked Sliz.

“Any kind of prescription drugs, it’s probably not the best course of action,” said Lorenzo.

In closing arguments, Sliz told jurors what may have led to Dailey's actions. "I understand the fear that probably gripped him about that. 'Oh my god, I'm drunk, I'm a police officer. They know it.' And I think the only reason he grabbed his vest was to have some appearance of authority was so he could flag somebody down and they could hopefully give him a ride," Sliz said.

But Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porder told jurors, "If you voluntarily become drunk, you can't be excused from a crime."

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Jury To Begin Deliberating Fate Of Ex-Cop

Former Duluth Officer Accused of Shooting Another Officer