Attorney's illness prompts new trial date for Minneapolis officer who Beat Down 14 Year Old Black Boy

David Shulman was telling a federal jury about his 14-year-old client who allegedly had been beaten by a police officer when Shulman collapsed. Sgt. Jeffrey Jindra, the Minneapolis officer accused of the beating, jumped from his chair and raced to Shulman's side. He checked Shulman's pulse, loosened his collar and talked to him, Jindra's attorney said Wednesday, describing the scene Tuesday inside the courtroom. "What's your name?" Jindra asked. "What's your date of birth? Are you a diabetic?" Jindra's attorney, Timothy Skarda, said he had talked with Shulman's law partner, who said Shulman had a virus over the weekend but is expected to recover. On Wednesday U.S. District Judge John Tunheim dismissed the jury and set a new trial date . In an order filed late Wednesday, Tunheim cited Shulman's unexpected illness and the impossibility of resuming trial until May 17. Skarda said the discussion never involved what effect Jindra's actions might have on the jury's view of the officer accused of police brutality and racial profiling. Damani Bediako claimed in the suit brought by his mother in June 2003 that Jindra beat him after Bediako was stopped outside a Minneapolis convenience store. According to the lawsuit, when the boy attempted to produce his wallet as ordered, Jindra put him in a chokehold, punched him and slammed him to the ground. Jindra was cleared by the U.S. Justice Department of alleged civil rights violations in that case. [more] Last year the accused officer, Jeffrey Jinda was also accused of sodomozing Stephen Porter with the handle of a bathroom plunger. [more] and [more]