Pa. juror excused from trial of man shot by police

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A western Pennsylvania judge has excused a juror in the criminal trial of a black man who was paralyzed when he was shot by a white Pittsburgh police officer during a traffic stop.

Judge Donald Machen of Allegheny County Common Pleas Court gave no reason today for excusing the female juror. He told the remaining panel plus an alternate to begin deliberations all over again from the beginning.

Jurors had said Wednesday that they were deadlocked on some counts but were told to keep deliberating.

Twenty-one-year-old Leon Ford of Shaler Township is charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and resisting arrest in the November 2012 incident. Police said he was shot during a struggle with officers when he tried to drive away. Ford’s attorneys say the police mistook him for a wanted gang member.