GREENVILLE, S.C. – A white South Carolina trooper has been acquitted of violating the civil rights of a black man who was struck by the officer's cruiser.
A federal jury returned the verdict Friday after a four-day trial that hinged in large part on a video from Lance Cpl. Steven Garren's patrol car.
The tape shows Marvin Grant running in front of Garren's cruiser after a brief car chase ended in June 2007. Grant is struck and flips over the hood of the patrol car. Garren later bragged on the tape that he deliberately hit Grant.
Garren was charged with using unreasonable force that deprived Grant of his civil rights. The officer could have faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he had been convicted.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox