Trial of Atlanta Cop Accused of Using Excessive Force Begins With Jury Selection

Jury selection is underway for the trial of a former Atlanta police officer who allegedly beat a man for 15 minutes behind a home in 2010, WSB-TV reports.

Potential jurors in the trial of Nicholas J. Dimauro were asked if recent events of alleged police brutality in Ferguson, MO and New York would keep them from being impartial, WSB-TV says. According to the station, most of the jury pool said they could keep their personal feelings out of Dimauro’s case.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dimauro faces charges of aggravated assault, aggravated battery, and oath violation. He was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury in September.

Prosecutors allege that Dimauro brutally beat Robert Wormley behind a home on Hood Street. They contend that a witness who lived inside the home saw DiMauro hit and kick Wormley for 15 minutes.

Dimauro claims the man was illegally walking on Woods Drive and fled when Dimauro tried to question him.

Wormley allegedly suffered abrasions to his face, three broken ribs, a broken wrist, a collapsed lung, and required staples in the back of his head.

Dimauro was fired following further assault accusations in 2011, but was reinstated with back pay in 2013.