Jury begins deliberations in Diallo case

ALBANY, N.Y. - Jurors began deliberating yesterday in the case of four white police officers charged with killing an unarmed black man, after the judge said the panel could acquit if they believed the officers acted in self-defense.

The officers could be cleared if jurors believe their claim that they fired 41 bullets at Amadou Diallo becase they thought he had a gun and wanted to shoot them, Justice Joseph Teresi said. "A person who acts in self-defense is not guilty of any crime," he said.

The judge spent more than three hours going over the legal instructions for each of 24 criminal counts jefore deliberations began.

He gave the jurors the option of considering charges other than murder, and told them the law allows police officers to stop and question someone if wrongdoing is suspected.

"You should figuratively put yourselves in the shoes of each defendant and consider how the situation appeared to him," the judge said. "You should consider what Amaou Diallo did before or during the encounter."

Earlier, Teresi replaced a female juror for talking about the case outside of court. The jury is now composed of four black women, one white woman and seven white men.

Sean Carroll, Edward Mellon, Kenneth Boss and Richard Murphy each have pleaded innocent to second degree murder.