Struggling jury returns in Pittsburgh beating case

Struggling jury returns in Pittsburgh beating case

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Federal court jurors in Pittsburgh are returning for a fifth day of deliberation in a civil rights lawsuit against three city police officers.

The jurors on Tuesday told U.S. District Judge Gary Lancaster they’re having difficulty reaching a unanimous verdict on claims that the officers wrongly arrested, maliciously prosecuted and used excessive force against Jordan Miles.

The judge told the jury to keep trying and ordered them to return today when they still had not reached a verdict Tuesday afternoon.

The officers say the 20-year-old Miles was prowling near a home and appeared to have a gun in his coat pocket, which they say turned out to be a soda bottle.

Miles denies having even the bottle and says he resisted only because police didn’t identify themselves and says he thought he was being robbed.