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Jury finds two Buffalo police officers accused of excessive force not guilty

A federal jury has found two Buffalo police officers accused of using excessive force toward a teenager in their custody in May of 2009 not guilty on all counts. The verdict was handed up late this afternoon following a two-week trial. One officer, Raymond Krug, was accused of shooting teenager Donald Silmon with a BB gun in the backseat of a police vehicle. Officer Joseph Wendel was accused of punching the teen in the stomach while he was handcuffed.

A third officer, Gregory Kwiatkowski, took a plea deal and admitted to roughing up Slimon and three other teens on the night the incident took place. He testified against the two other officers, who denied the actions. The teenagers were being held as suspects in a BB gun shooting.

Jurors deliberated for two days before reaching their decision.

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