DIALLO SHOOTING TRIAL
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ALBANY, N.Y. (Court TV) —Erasing concerns that an all-white jury would be selected in Albany, two African-American women were sworn in as jurors Monday in the Amadou Diallo shooting trial.

Jury selection began and progressed swiftly Monday in the trial of four New York officers accused in the 1999 shooting death of a West African immigrant. The defendants — Sean Carroll, Richard Murphy, Edward McMellon and Kenneth Boss — are charged with second-degree murder. Diallo was gunned down in the vestibule of his Bronx home when, the defense says, the undercover officers thought he was reaching for a gun. Diallo did not have a weapon; he was armed only with a beeper and a wallet. The officers fired 41 bullets; 19 struck Diallo.

Two African-American women — one of whom is originally from the Bronx — were among the five jurors chosen. The woman formerly from the Bronx was chosen as jury foreperson. So far the jury consists of four women and one man. On the first day of jury selection, two panels, each consisting of 85 potential jurors, were brought in: reportedly 19 percent in the first panel were African-American and 15 percent in the second panel. The potential jurors were mainly asked about their exposure to pretrial publicity about the case and their ability to be fair.

The racial composition of the jury pool and the choice of foreperson seemed to squash criticism that minorities would not be picked from the predominantly white jury pool in Albany. Citing pretrial publicity, a New York appellate court ruled last December that the four officers could not get a fair trial in the Bronx and ordered the case moved up to Albany. But some of Diallo's supporters, including the Rev. Al Sharpton, felt the officers should be tried in the Bronx, which is 38 percent African-American and 42 percent Hispanic, instead of Albany, which is 89 percent white.

A snowstorm and various peaceful protests led by Sharpton greeted the first day of jury selection. Sharpton and over 100 protesters chanted, "No justice, no peace" and "Amadou, we love you" as light snow fell outside the courthouse. Diallo's supporters, who traveled upstate from New York City, had promised to protest the change of venue ruling.

"[We] come to Albany in peace," Sharpton said. "Those who come in hate need not come here. We will never be the hateful ones or the violent ones. We will not become like the ones we fight."

About 2000 Albany residents were summoned for jury duty. By the end of last week, several potential jurors had dropped out due to scheduling and other conflicts and the jury pool was down to 700.

Patrick Lynch, President of the Policeman's Benevolent Association and a spokesman for the four officers on trial, said that the defendants are looking forward to telling their side of the story at trial and proving their innocence.

"They [Carroll, Murphy, McMellon and Boss] should get a fair trial. It's about time they got a chance to get a fair trial," Lynch said. "They want to go to trial, tell jurors exactly what happened, and then put this behind them so that they can return home to their families. This was a horrible tragedy, but it was not a crime."

The defense for Carroll, Murphy, McMellon and Boss claims that the shooting was an accident, not murder. The officers, who at the time of the killing were looking for a Bronx serial rapist, have claimed that they approached Diallo because he was acting "suspiciously" and claimed that they identified themselves while asking him to halt. For some reason, the defense says, Diallo did not obey the command and began reaching for an object.

Claiming the vestibule was dimly lit, the officers claim they reasonably thought Diallo was reaching for a gun and fired to protect themselves.

Jury selection could be completed as early as Tuesday. Opening statements could take place Wednesday or Thursday.

— Bryan Robinson