Judge prohibits calling "victims" who Kyle Rittenhouse shot 1:39
(CNN) -
A jury was dismissed in Kyle Rittenhouse's murder trial Thursday after he pranked an officer earlier this week about the police shooting of Jacob Blake.
The incident occurred when a jury man who was being escorted to his car made a joke about the shooting, Judge Bruce Schroeder said.
"I'm going to summarize what I remember, what they told me," Schroeder said.
"He was telling a joke ... he told the agent ... he made a reference about telling a joke about 'Why did it take seven shots to shoot Jacob Blake,' something like that."
Kenosha County Deputy District Attorney Thomas Binger was especially critical of the incident.
New FBI Aerial Surveillance Video Shows Never-Before-Seen Actions Before Kyle Rittenhouse Shot 3 People
"The joke is in bad taste, there are a plethora of bad jokes out there with everything to do with all of this, this is one of them. But I think the rest of this joke, so to speak, suggests some kind of racial bias that I think comes into play, "he said.
The judge called the jury to question him and the jury claimed that he had told the joke, but refused to repeat it.
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The middle-aged juror appeared uncomfortable, groping for a portable microphone and speaking through a multi-colored mask as he addressed the judge, according to a court reporter.
"It had nothing to do with the case," he told the judge.
"It is clear that the appearance of bias is present and would seriously undermine the outcome of the case," explained Schroeder.
"My opinion is that it had nothing to do with the case. It had nothing to do with Kyle and his charges," the juror told the judge.
"The public has to be sure that this is a fair trial," Schroeder responded.
Both the defense and the prosecution agreed to fire the juror.
The removal of the jury leaves the panel with 19 members in total, 11 women and now eight men.
That number will drop to 12 once deliberations begin, according to the judge.
The impeachment came amid the first week of testimony at Rittenouse's murder trial in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Rittenhouse, 17 at the time, killed two men and wounded another during rioting after police shot Blake, a 29-year-old black man seven times, on August 23, 2020. He was paralyzed. .
Rittenhouse, now 18, has pleaded not guilty to seven counts, including first degree manslaughter, first degree reckless manslaughter and attempted first degree manslaughter.
In opening statements, the prosecution said the evidence would show that Rittenhouse pursued and fatally shot Rosenbaum, 36, and then shot three other people who tried to confront what they believed to be an attacker.
However, Richards said Rittenhouse acted in self-defense, describing Rosenbaum as the assailant and the others as part of a "mob."
Suspect arrested in Kenosha shooting 4:43
The violence in Kenosha, a city of about 100,000, came amid a tense summer of protests and riots in which the masses denounced the treatment of blacks by the US police.
On August 23, 2020, Blake was shot by a Kenosha police officer, and the ensuing public anger sparked incidents of violence and destruction, prompting some people to arm themselves and take the safety of the community into their own hands.
What you need to know about the trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, the teenager accused of shooting two people to death during protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Rittenhouse fired an AR-15 type weapon eight times in total during the riots: four shots at Rosenbaum, who was unarmed;
two shots at an unarmed stranger who kicked Rittenhouse;
a fatal shot at Anthony Huber, who struck Rittenhouse with a skateboard;
and a shot at Gaige Grosskreutz, who had a pistol in his hand, according to the prosecution.
Rosenbaum and Huber, 26, were killed, and Grosskreutz, 27, was injured.
Videos show the last moments of Kyle Rittenhouse's attack
This Wednesday and Thursday, prosecutors played a dozen videos that together showed what happened before, during and after Rittenhouse killed two men and wounded another in Kenosha.
Most notably, the FBI's new infrared aerial surveillance video provided a unique angle of the last moments before the teenager fatally shot Rosenbaum.
The infrared video, grainy and shot from 2,590 meters, shows Rittenhouse hurrying along a sidewalk and passing Rosenbaum, who is standing next to a group of parked vehicles.
The video shows that the two stop and interact, and Rosenbaum, who was unarmed, starts running towards Rittenhouse, who is armed with a rifle.
Rittenhouse, who was 17 at the time, flees Rosenbaum before the teen turns and shoots him four times, the video shows.
Kyle Rittenhouse, left, cap reversed, walks down Sheridan Road in Kenosha on Aug.25, 2020 with another armed civilian.
The new FBI aerial video was shown in court during the testimony of Kenosha Police Detective Martin Howard, the lead investigator on the case.
Richards, Rittenhouse's attorney, alleged that Rosenbaum was in the parking lot setting fire to a Duramax pickup.
Richards argued that Rosenbaum "was in hiding" when Rittenhouse arrived at the parking lot, which Howard confirmed.
Videos taken of the scene by other witnesses show Rosenbaum throwing a plastic bag at Rittenhouse during the chase, but Rosenbaum was otherwise unarmed.
The videos also show that another person fired a shot in the air about 2.5 seconds before Rittenhouse opened fire.
That initial shot was fired by Joshua Ziminski, Howard said.
Later, Rittenhouse fired four shots at Rosenbaum.
There were three more shots later, according to the videos, but Howard said investigators still don't know who fired them.
Ziminski, 36, has been charged separately with disorderly conduct with use of a dangerous weapon, arson and obstruction of an officer, and has pleaded not guilty, according to court records.
A criminal complaint says he admitted to firing a "warning shot" into the air that night.
Other videos from that night, from various perspectives, show what happened next.
Rittenhouse fled the scene of the shooting and people started chasing him, shouting that he had shot someone.
Rittenhouse then fell to the ground and three people confronted him;
Rittenhouse fatally shot Huber and shot Grosskreutz in the arm, videos show.
CNN's Ashley Killough, Brad Parks, and Amir Vera contributed to this report.
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