A civil trial jury ruled on Tuesday that a Chicago police officer did not use unjustified force in the 2011 fatal shooting of an 18-year-old black man.
Plaintiff Wanda Edwards was seeking unspecified damages for the death of her son, Parise Mercer, in a trial that began last week against a backdrop of rising scrutiny over police conduct toward African Americans.
Officer Noel Morgan, the defendant, who also is black, was trying to arrest Mercer after a July shooting outside a restaurant. Authorities said Mercer ran and pointed a gun at Morgan and his partner, Tracy Adler. Both officers fired and Mercer was struck by one bullet in the back and died.
Edwards has argued that her son was not the shooter in the incident that brought police to the scene and did not have a gun. She filed a claim against Morgan under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which prohibits excessive force. Initial claims against Adler and the city of Chicago were dropped.
An eight-member jury ruled unanimously in favor of Morgan.
Edwards' attorneys portrayed Mercer as an innocent bystander picking up a carry-out order when shots rang out.
"He was the unlucky guy who happened to be the last one running from the scene," Brendan Shiller, who is representing the plaintiff, told an eight-member jury.
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