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Jury declared hung in trial for man shot by Norfolk Police officer

Posted at 6:30 PM, Apr 25, 2017
and last updated 2017-04-25 18:31:27-04

NORFOLK, Va. – The civil trial of a man shot by a Norfolk Police officer continued until Tuesday when the jury was declared hung.

The jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict after the sixth day of trial.

Marius Mitchell

Marius Mitchell was suing the former officer who shot him for $10 million, although the city would have paid the judgment if there was one in Mitchell’s favor.

Officer Neal Robertson shot Mitchell during an incident in January 2013 along Hampton Boulevard. At the time, police said Mitchell dragged Robertson with Robertson’s unmarked police car following a foot chase in the area.

The Commonwealth’s Attorney ruled the shooting was justified.

Mitchell says he was running from the area because he didn’t realize Robertson was a police officer.

In 2014, he told News 3 he didn’t move the car and isn’t sure how it got moved from where Robertson originally parked it.

Mitchell was found not guilty of the charges against him in 2015.

The lawsuit alleged Robertson used excessive force, unlawfully arrested Mitchell, and was negligent. In a separate court filing, Roberston denied the allegations.

Robertson’s attorney says the injuries he received that day caused him to retire from the force.

Jurors were excused from service and the parties involved in the trial were instructed to contact the court if they would like to schedule a retrial.