A retrial against three Pittsburgh police officers began on Tuesday on claims that they wrongly arrested and beat a young black man in January 2010, Fox News reported.
In August 2012, a federal jury ruled that Officers Richard Ewing, Michael Saldutte, and David Sisak did not maliciously prosecute 18-year-old Jordan Miles but were deadlocked on whether they used excessive force or wrongfully arrested him.
A jury made up of four men and four women will now hear evidence with the hope of making a final decision on the claims.
Miles was arrested by the three officers after they claim they saw a gun coming out of his coat pocket. However, police claimed the gun ended up being a soda bottle, though Miles said he didn't even have a bottle on him either. The then-18-year-old student said he was merely talking on his cell phone while walking from his mother's house to his grandmother's house.
"The officers overtook Miles and administered a brutal beating that left him unrecognizable, ripping dreadlocks out of his head, and continuing to beat him as he lay on the ground after their initial assault, stammering the Lord's Prayer. There can be no explaining away or excusing what was done to Miles," according to the Justice for Jordan website.
Since the trial, Ewing left the Pittsburgh Police Department and became an officer in McCandless, a suburb north of the city. Saldutte and Sisak remained on the force.
All three police officers deny any wrongdoing. They've admitted to kicking and punching Miles because he allegedly fought with them.
