BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo Police Officer Corey Krug is back on trial.
Prosecutors are getting a second go at the officer who is charged with using excessive force during a Thanksgiving eve incident in 2014 on Chippewa.
Prosecutors say he assaulted Devin Ford by using a nightstick to slam him against the hood of a car and then onto the ground before repeatedly hitting him in the legs.
Krug's lawyers Terrence Connors told jurors during opening statements that it was justified and reasonable. He said Ford and his friends who had been kicked out of a nightclub were looking for trouble.
Krug was acquitted of three charges in his first trial. Jurors deadlocked on a fourth related to Ford. He is expected to testify in this trial.
A television news photographer, James Herr, captured at least 20-seconds of Krug's encounter with Ford. In the video, you see Krug using his nightstick to hit a man on the legs. Herr testified that neither he or the station he worked for was out to get police officers.
He was shooting the Chippewa bar scene because the Mayor had called for an increased police presence.
Jurors will decide if the officer used excessive force and violated a man’s civil rights.
Krug is an 18-year veteran of the force.