2nd Trial Starting For Ex-Michigan Trooper In Boy's ATV Death

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DETROIT (AP) — Jurors are ready to hear opening statements in the second trial of a former Michigan state trooper who is blamed for the death of a Detroit teen on an all-terrain vehicle.

EX-MSP trooper Mark Bessner (left) sits with his attorney Richard Convertino before he was arraigned in the death of a 15-year-old riding on an ATV in Detroit. (Photo by Mandi Wright/Detroit Free Press/TNS/Sipa USA)

Mark Bessner's first trial last fall ended without a verdict. He's charged with second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Damon Grimes in 2017. Opening statements are set for Wednesday.

Bessner shot Grimes with a Taser from a moving patrol car as he and his partner pursued the boy at high speed. Grimes crashed the ATV and died.

Bessner said he believed Grimes was armed , but the teen had no weapon. He quit the state police.

The incident caused the state police to change its policy and stop high-speed chases for routine traffic offenses in Detroit.