Officer On Trial For Shooting Manuel Burnley, Jr. In The Back

A Brown Deer police officer, 28-year old Devon Kraemer, is on trial, charge with aggravated battery and intending great bodily harm for shooting 28-year old Manuel Burnley Jr. in the back.  If convicted, the officer faces up to 10 years in prison.  Brown Deer is a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Manuel Burnley, Jr. suffered rib fractures and lost part of a lung, but after 12 days in the hospital, he survived the shooting and lives to tell his side of the story at trial.

During jury selection, several potential jurors admitted they likely couldn’t be impartial when the defendant is a police office.  About 6 potential jurors said they keep “We Back the Badge” signs in their yard, and 1 person said he has a “Black Lives Matter” sign.  Two men said that even if the prosecutor presented solid evidence of guilt, they would not vote to convict.

One potential juror works in a dry cleaners patronized by police officers.  One woman said that she and her husband, both White, were profiled when they were stopped on the north side because of the kind of car they were driving. She said the officer looked shocked when her husband rolled down the window and saw they are not Black.  The officer warned him that the car’s tint was too dark.

The jury consists of 14; the standard 12 plus 2 alternates.   I was unable to find any information on the jurors who were selected.   A condition imposed on the media might prevent them from making that information available to the public because Manuel is Black, and the two officers involved are White.

Circuit Judge Christopher Dee has imposed extra restrictions on news media covering the trial, including a prohibition on showing the faces of all witnesses. He has also prohibited live streaming of the trial without his express permission.  Television station reporting staff is working the pool feed from a single bench.