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Supporters rally outside courthouse as Jordan Miles' mother takes the stand

PITTSBURGH — The mother of Jordan Miles, the man suing three Pittsburgh police officers, took the stand Wednesday.

Miles, of Homewood, claims he was wrongfully arrested four years ago and was beaten unlawfully by the officers.

His mother, Terez Miles, said she mistakenly thought her son was a panhandler when he approached her outside the Allegheny County Jail a day after the arrest.

"I just went hysterical because I did not recognize his face at all," Terez Miles said on the sixth day of testimony in Miles' federal civil rights trial.

Terez Miles said her son still hasn't fully recovered from the beating.

She said he's not as fun-loving and outgoing as he was before the incident.

"He's not quite his old self even to this day," she said.

Channel 11’s Dave Bondy reported that supporters of Miles rallied outside the Allegheny County Courthouse before and during Wednesday’s hearing.

https://twitter.com/WPXI_DaveBondy/status/446286876794953728

One of the supporters told Bondy she came from Massachusetts. She said she doesn’t know Miles, but felt it was important to show her support.

“His family is not allowed in the courtroom because they are witnesses. We want Jordan to know that he is not alone and four years later, we are standing with and by him,” said Brandi Fish, of the Alliance for Police Accountability.

Miles alleges that plainclothes officers “pounced” on him Jan. 12, 2010 on Tioga Street because they thought he was dealing drugs. Police have said they believed Miles was an armed prowler resisting arrest.

This is the second civil trial in the case. In 2012, a jury was deadlocked on charges that the officers used excessive force and falsely arrested Miles.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the last of the three white police officers took the stand.

Officer Michael Saldutte testified Tuesday that the actions he and two other officers took "were appropriate given the actions" of Miles.

Miles was an 18-year-old performing arts high school student with no criminal record when he was arrested.

Miles was expected to testify Wednesday, but Channel 11’s Alan Jennings reported that will not happen.

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