ST. LOUIS (AP) – A mistrial has been declared in the trial of a former police officer who allegedly punched a man outside a downtown St. Louis bar.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports jurors deadlocked Wednesday on the misdemeanor assault case against 36-year-old Steven Blakeney.
It wasn’t clear if prosecutors planned to seek a retrial.
Prosecutors say Blakeney was off-duty as a Pine Lawn officer when he beckoned three women to his unmarked police car early Sept. 4, 2014, saying they were too drunk to drive. A friend of the women told jurors he confronted Blakeney and was punched in the mouth – something Blakeney denies.
Blakeney has since been fired. He faces federal prison time in an unrelated conspiracy case, and allegations that he drugged and abducted two women.