Miami police trial begins

Jury selection began yesterday in the Orlando, Fla., retrial of a Miami police officer charged in a 1989 shooting death that triggered a riot.

Officer William Lozano was convicted of manslaughter in the deaths of two motorcyclists, but an appeals court ordered a new trial, saying his Miami jury may have feared an acquittal would cause more street violence.

The trial has bounced five times between Miami, Orlando, and Tallahassee. Orlando finally was chosen because it has a larger Hispanic population than Tallahassee.

Officer Lozano claims self-defense in his shooting of a rapidly approaching motorcyclist on Jan. 16, 1989, in a predominantly black Miami neighborhood. The deaths of biker Clement Lloyd and his passenger, Allan Blanchard, triggered three nights of racial violence that killed one man and caused $1 million in damage.