Oct 7, 2014 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – A judge refused to dismiss the remaining charges against a black man who was shot and paralyzed by a white Pittsburgh police officer when the motorist drove away from a traffic stop.

Allegheny County prosecutors haven’t said whether they’ll retry Leon Ford in a shooting that prompted tensions between the city’s black community and the police. But Judge Donald Machen ordered prosecutors to report back in two weeks.

“This is a highly important case,” Machen told Assistant District Attorney Robert Schupansky. “It’s got a lot of people wondering what the court’s going to do.”

Also at issue is a court-imposed gag order that remains in effect in the criminal case – but which is also keeping Ford, 21, of Shaler, and his attorneys from discussing a federal civil rights lawsuit pending against the city and the officers.

A jury last month acquitted Ford of aggravated assault but couldn’t agree on a verdict on charges of resisting arrest, escape and three counts of reckless endangerment.

Schupansky contends Ford wrongly drove away as an officer struggled to shut off the vehicle, endangering the officer and two others at the scene of the November 2012 traffic stop. The officer in the car shot Ford five times to stop the car.

Ford’s attorneys contend he was doing nothing wrong. They said police pulled him over and got unduly aggressive after mistaking Ford for a wanted gang member with the same last name and refusing to believe his claims they had the wrong man.

The gag order was issued after the court learned Ford participated in a rally on the eve of jury selection in his criminal case.

The demonstrators wore T-shirts that read “Zone 5 – Criminals On Patrol” – referring to police who work in the highest crime area of the city.

The marchers also referenced the recent shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, of a black man by a white officer.

Schupansky told the judge that, by law, prosecutors have up to a year to decide whether to retry Ford on the charges the jury couldn’t decide last month. But the gag order would effectively muzzle Ford and his attorneys if the DA takes that long to decide whether to retry the case, defense attorney Thomas Malone argued.

“If they’re playing games to keep that (gag order) in place, that’s a serious First Amendment issue,” Malone told the judge.

Pressed for an answer, Schupansky told the judge his office was “still reviewing the matter” and waiting for the trial transcript before deciding whether to retry Ford.

“That’s not really a good answer,” the judge told Schupansky. Machen then scheduled an Oct. 21 hearing at which he may consider lifting the gag order if prosecutors have yet to decide whether to retry Ford.