Mistrial In Civil Trial For Former Dallas Officer Amy Wilburn In 2013 Shooting Of Unarmed Man
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — A hung jury resulted in a mistrial in the civil case against former against former Dallas police officer Amy Wilburn for the shooting of an unarmed 19-year-old in 2013.
After a week-long trial and another day and a half of deliberating, the jurors told the District Judge Ed Kinkeade they were deadlocked.
Kinkeade sent the jury back multiple times to try to reach a decision but to no avail.
Kinkeade told both the plaintiff and defendant he wants to see the case retried no later than November.
The lawsuit alleges Wilburn shot Kelvion Walker inside a reported stolen vehicle while both of his hands were up.
Four months ago, Wilburn pleaded guilty a reduced charge of reckless discharge of a firearm for the shooting but her civil defense attorney argued her actions were "objectionably reasonable" given the circumstance and her training.
The plaintiff's star witness, Scotty Smith, told the court he saw Walker sitting inside the car with his hands up for eight to nine seconds, before being shot by Wilburn.
In 2014, Wilburn became the first Dallas police officer to be indicted for shooting a suspect in more than four decades. She was indicted on a felony aggravated assault charge and faced the possibility of life in prison.
In her plea deal, she received 18 months of deferred probation. Wilburn was also required to surrender her peace officer's certificate.
Walker underwent three major surgeries after being shot in the stomach.
Along with more than $300,000 in medical bills, Walker's attorney said his client suffered long term physical and emotional damage from the shooting.
Prior to the start of the trail, the City of Dallas had spent more than $640,000 in legal fees on the case, according to billing records obtained by the CBS 11 I-Team.