Jury returns Tuesday in police shooting that paralyzed man

PITTSBURGH – Jurors resume deliberations Tuesday in a civil rights lawsuit filed by a black man paralyzed by a white Pittsburgh police officer during a traffic stop nearly five years ago.

Jurors told the judge Friday they were deadlocked in the federal suit filed by 24-year-old Leon Ford against officers David Derbish and Andrew Miller but were told to keep deliberating.

The officers maintain that Ford was shot five times by Derbish during the November 2012 traffic stop because he was resisting and tried to drive away as they struggled inside Ford’s vehicle. Miller is being sued for assault and battery

But Ford says the car was inadvertently knocked into gear and that the officers acted aggressively because they thought he was a gang member with a similar name, age and appearance.