Jury Selection Set For East Palo Alto Cop Beating of Black Man

Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the trial of two off-duty East Palo Alto police officers accused of beating a man who tried to sell them drugs. Prosecutors say Officers Edward Rivers and Johnny Taflinger sat in a sport utility vehicle in East Palo Alto in August 2004 and asked a man passing by if he would sell them drugs. They allegedly chased and beat the man after he returned with crack cocaine. A teenage volunteer who allegedly participated in the incident will be tried separately. The trio was implicated after a fellow officer complained to the district attorney and secretly recorded conversations about the alleged beating. A conviction could result in a more than seven years in prison for each officer. [more]