Judge Tosses Out Manslaughter Charge Against Cop Who Killed Girl

Shot her in Detroit during a police raid

A judge on Friday tossed out an involuntary manslaughter charge against a Detroit police officer who shot and killed a 7-year-old girl during a 2010 police raid.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway was acting on a motion from the defense as the two-week jury trial headed into closing arguments.

Officer Joseph Weekley still faces a charge of reckless discharge of a firearm in the death of Aiyana Stanley-Jones. Weekley is being retried after a jury failed to reach a verdict last year in the same case.

Judge Gray Hathaway said she accepted the defense's reasoning that evidence and testimony did not meet the involuntary manslaughter charge.