Prosecutor won’t retry man shot by police
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PITTSBURGH – A black man left paralyzed after he was shot by a white police officer during a traffic stop in Pittsburgh will not be retried on charges including resisting arrest and reckless endangerment, officials said Friday.
The catastrophic injuries sustained by Leon Ford, 21, will serve as more of a deterrent to fleeing law enforcement than anything that could come out of a second trial, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said in a statement.
Ford’s attorney, Monte Rabner, said he and his client were “elated.”
“We’re just finally enjoying what we’ve been waiting for all along – the right decision,” Rabner said.
Zappala also said he hoped the decision would help further efforts by Pittsburgh Police Chief Cameron McLay to improve community relations. Ford has been the focus of demonstrations in the city following the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo.
Ford and his attorneys contend he was wrongly pulled over in 2013, purportedly for running a stop sign.
A struggle broke out when police mistakenly thought Ford was a wanted gang member with a similar name, and officers tried to pull him out of the car.
Police said Ford tried to drive away, dragging Officer David Derbish, who shot Ford multiple times from inside the car. Ford testified the still-running car got knocked into gear as police tried to pull him from it.
Ford was acquitted in September of aggravated assault, but a jury couldn’t decide on counts including resisting arrest, escape and reckless endangerment.
Derbish has been placed on desk duty during a civil rights investigation by the U.S. Justice Department.
Ford is currently hospitalized following a Dec. 30 surgery related to his injuries, Rabner said. Ford has a federal civil rights lawsuit pending against the city and the three white officers involved.