INDIANAPOLIS -- Simmie Poetsema and his comrades from the Special Forces Unit of the Netherlands military were trained to defend themselves in warfare before they were shot on the streets of Indianapolis in the summer of 2022 and Poetsema died. Shamar Duncan is accused of that murder and facing trial this week in Marion Superior Court. Trial begins for accused killer of Dutch soldier in Indy Shamar Duncan (booking photo via IMPD) Poetsema and as many as 10 fellow soldiers were in Indiana for training when they enjoyed a Friday night in Indianapolis’ South Meridian Street bar district. After the bars closed at 3 a.m., the soldiers were headed back to the Hampton Inn at Meridian and Maryland Streets when witness Nicholas Passino told jurors he saw Duncan and his two brothers tangle with the commandos. ”I saw pushing, just aggravated I guess, and there was punching and a fight broke out," Passino said. Passino testified that minutes before the trio had tried to pick a fight with a group of Latino males who walked away. Investigators said when one of the Duncan brothers was punched out by the soldiers and hit the ground, the group of visitors headed for their hotel while the Duncans went back to the truck parked on the curb. That’s when Passino said he heard one of the brothers say, “Unlock the car and then get the strap.” “Have you heard the word strap before?” asked Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Cicchini. “What is your understanding of what a strap is?” “A gun,” Passino answered. The witness then described how the Duncans entered their truck which did a U-turn on Meridian Street and headed northbound toward Monument Circle, only to slow at the end of the block with its flashers on as gunfire erupted from the backseat. Jurors and members of the gallery saw several videos of the shooting and the aftermath, one of them from the body-worn camera of hotel security consultant Melvin Hall. As Hall responded from inside the Hampton Inn, its windows shattered by gunfire, he became aware of three wounded soldiers as Poetsema lay fatally shot on the sidewalk. Simmie Poetsema/photo via Ministry of Defense ”There was one that was on the ground and aid was being rendered to that person. Then there was another one that was outside of the location. They were also rendering aid to him as well,” said Hall. “It was a chaotic scene.” Man charged with murder, attempted murder in shooting of Dutch soldiers Poetsema’s relatives and friends in the courtroom shook their heads and cried while watching the videos. The trial will continue with the anticipated testimony of Robert Duncan, owner of the truck, who is expected to tell jurors that he watched Shamar fire the shots from the backseat of his vehicle. Defense Attorney David Margerum told jurors in opening statements that his client did not deny shooting at the soldiers, but did not intend to kill anyone. Margerum indicated his client would testify in his own defense.