A defense attorney suggested Monday that a key prosecution witness knew that State Department Special Agent Christopher Deedy was a law enforcement officer when the witness said he initially thought the agent was carrying a Taser electronic stun gun.

Shane Medeiros, 24, a close friend of Kollin Elderts, testified that Deedy didn’t identify himself as a law enforcement officer before he shot Elderts early Nov. 5, 2011, at the McDonald’s Kuhio Avenue restaurant.

Medeiros said he first thought Deedy had a Taser before realizing the weapon was a gun.

State law prohibits members of the public from carrying Tasers, but police officers are exempted from the prohibition.

Deedy’s lawyer Karl Blanke asked Medeiros whether the reason he thought the weapon was a Taser was that he knew the agent was a law enforcement officer.

Circuit Judge Karen Ahn upheld an objection to the question by the prosecution as “argumentative.”

Blanke, however, was permitted to ask Medeiros whether he has ever seen anyone who isn’t a law enforcement officer carrying Tasers.

Medeiros testified that women carry Tasers, but he said he has not seen a man who is not an officer carry the weapon. “But I’m sure they do,” he added.

Medeiros testified he thought of a Taser because he didn’t want to believe what he saw was a gun.

“I just didn’t want to believe someone would be carrying a gun in a crowded McDonald’s,” he said.

Medeiros, a key prosecution witness, returned to the stand Monday morning for questioning by the defense in the 13th day of Deedy’s murder trial.

Deedy, 29, of Arlington, Va., who was here for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference, is charged with shooting Elderts, 23, of Kailua, after drinking beer at Chinatown and Waikiki bars.

Deedy’s defense is that he wasn’t intoxicated and that he identified himself as a law enforcement officer before firing his 9 mm Glock to ward off an attack by Elderts.

Ahn recessed the trial for the afternoon to give jurors a chance to return home and take precautions because of Tropical Storm Flossie.

The trial is scheduled to resume today later than the usual 9 a.m. start because of the weather.