A judge has denied an immunity request from William “Ben” Darby, a Huntsville police officer charged with murder of an armed suicidal man.

After hearing testimony from seven witnesses — including Darby — on Wednesday, Madison County Circuit Judge Donna Pate issued a written order this morning.

“Upon consideration of the evidence presented and applicable law, it is ORDERED that defendant’s motion for immunity be and the same hereby is DENIED,” Pate wrote in the order. “... further proceedings herein are STAYED so that defendant may pursue his appellate remedies.”

Darby is charged with murder in the April 3, 2018 fatal shooting of 49-year-old Jeffrey Parker. The shooting happened after Parker called police to his west Huntsville home on Deramus Avenue that afternoon. Parker told police that he was armed and wanted to “blow his brains out,” according to court testimony.

At his immunity hearing on Wednesday, Darby testified that he acted in defense of himself and two other officers when he killed Parker. Darby testified that Parker was sitting on a couch with a gun to his own head. Darby testified that he told Parker to drop the gun three times, but Parker didn’t comply. Darby told the judge that he fatally shot Parker after Parker shrugged his shoulders, causing the gun to move slightly.

Two other police officers — Genisha Pegues and Justin Beckles — testified they didn’t see Parker’s gun move.

Body camera footage of the shooting is dark and didn’t appear to clearly show whether Parker moved the gun.

Pegues and Beckles were the first cops on the scene. Darby arrived later and killed Parker shortly after his arrival on Deramus Avenue, according to testimony and body camera video that was shown in court.

Darby’s body camera video showed him grab his shotgun from his patrol car and sprint to Parker’s home a couple of houses down the street. Beckles was standing at the front door of the home while Pegues was inside the home. Darby was standing behind Beckles, outside the home. From outside, Darby testified, he couldn’t see Parker, who was sitting inside the front room on a couch and pointing a gun at his own head.

Pegues could be heard on body camera video talking to Parker in a way that prosecutors characterized as de-escalating the situation. When Pegues entered the home and saw Parker with the gun to his head, she asked why he wanted to kill himself, according to the video footage. Pegues described having a calm conversation with Parker, noting that he told her his dog wouldn’t harm her and that he didn’t want to hurt her.

Huntsville police Investigator Josh Vogel, who led the criminal investigation into Parker’s death, testified that authorities later determined the weapon Parker had was a flare gun. But, Vogel testified, the weapon had been altered to look like a real revolver and altered so that it would fire buckshot.

Pegues testified that she believed she was de-escalating the situation with Parker — until Darby pushed past her and Beckles to take over the situation.

Darby testified that he took over because Pegues was “failing to control the situation” and not “protecting herself.”

When Darby first walked up to the home, he shouted at Pegues to “Point your f---ing gun at him,” video footage revealed. Within about 20 seconds, Darby pushed past Beckles and Pegues — both officers with more experience than Darby — and entered the front room of the home. Darby himself told Parker multiple times to drop the gun and within 11 seconds of entering the home, Darby shot him in the face.

About two months after the shooting, Darby was cleared of wrongdoing by an internal police review board. Beckles and Pegues were sent for re-training on officer safety, according to testimony. At the time of the shooting, Beckles and Pegues had about 10 years of combined police experience, compared to Darby’s 18 months on the job.

Beckles and Darby testified that Pegues had put herself in danger at the scene because she was standing in front of Parker, who had a gun to his own head.

To obtain immunity, a defendant has to prove that his actions were justified. Immunity would prevent the Madison County District Attorney’s office from prosecuting Darby.

Updated at 10:03 a.m. with additional background information throughout.