By ED WHITE
DETROIT (AP) — A lawyer for a
Detroit police officer who accidentally killed a girl during a raid fears that
widespread media coverage of a police shooting in Missouri could harm his
client's right to a fair trial.
Steven Fishman sought a delay
in Officer Joseph Weekley's trial, which starts Monday. But Wayne County Judge
Cynthia Hathaway turned down the request last Friday.
Weekley is charged with
involuntary manslaughter. He admits shooting 7-year-old Aiyana Stanley-Jones
during a 2010 raid but says the shooting happened when the girl's grandmother
grabbed his gun. Mertilla Jones denies any interference.
A trial last year ended without
a verdict.
Fishman says police in general
have been vilified in news coverage of the recent shooting in Ferguson,
Missouri. He wanted to postpone Weekley's trial until 2015.
