Fed probe scuttles Pittsburgh beating mediation

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A federal mediator says a lawsuit filed by a black Pittsburgh performing arts student who claims he was wrongly beaten by three white city officers couldn’t be settled because of an ongoing grand jury investigation.

All lawsuits filed in U.S. District Court, Pittsburgh must opt for mediation or some kind of arbitration before they can go to trial. Attorneys for 18-year-old Jordan Miles and the officers chose mediation in December. But the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says a mediator reported the case could not be settled because of “possible indictment of defendants.”

The U.S. Justice Department is investigating Miles’ claim that the officers beat him in January 2010 because he was a young black man walking in a high-crime area. Officers charged Miles with trespassing and claimed he had a gun, which they say turned out to be a soda bottle — and which Miles denies even having.

Miles has been cleared of criminal charges, and his attorney claims he’s passed a lie detector test.