Crime

Trial opens for Detroit officer who killed girl

/ AP

DETROIT - A jury is set to hear opening statements in the second trial of a Detroit police officer who fatally shot a 7-year-old girl during a frantic search for a murder suspect.

Lawyers and Wayne County Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway picked the jury Wednesday. Jurors were asked about race and the recent shooting of an unarmed black 18-year-old by a white officer in Ferguson, Missouri.

Officer Joseph Weekley is white, and Aiyana Stanley-Jones was black. Jurors agree that race and the Ferguson shooting are irrelevant in the Detroit trial.

Weekley is charged with involuntary manslaughter. He's accused of handling his gun recklessly during a 2010 raid at a Detroit home.

It's the second trial for Weekley, a member of an elite police unit. A jury last year couldn't reach a verdict.

First published on September 18, 2014 / 3:43 PM EDT

AP

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