A judge has declined to dismiss charges against a suburban Pittsburgh man accused of having assaulted a Pittsburgh police officer during a traffic stop in which the man was shot and left paralyzed.
Twenty-one-year-old Leon Ford of Shaler is scheduled for trial in September in Allegheny County on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and other counts.
Defense attorney Fred Rabner argued that officers failed to activate an in-car camera and a lapel microphone, robbing jurors of a full video record of the November 2012 events.
Judge Donald Machen on Monday called Rabner's arguments “very creative” but said many of the issues he raised were best left for jurors to decide.
Ford has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and officers, alleging excessive force and racial profiling.
