DETROIT (AP) — The Michigan Supreme Court has cleared the way for a trial or settlement in a lawsuit against a Detroit police officer who accidentally killed a 7-year-old girl during a raid in 2010.
Two courts have said a jury can decide whether Joseph Weekley's actions amounted to gross negligence. The Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal.
Aiyana Stanley-Jones was shot in the head while she slept on a couch. Weekley, a member of an elite police unit, was the first officer through the door of her home during a chaotic search for a murder suspect. He insists he accidentally fired his gun during a struggle with Aiyana's grandmother.
Weekley was charged with involuntary manslaughter. The charge was dismissed by a judge during a second trial in 2014.
