By AP/KWMU
Columbia, MO – A former Lincoln County sheriff's deputy was found not guilty Thursday in the shooting deaths of two men during a traffic stop.
Nicholas Forler had said he feared for his life when a truck that Michael Brown and Tyler Teasley were in rolled back towards him after he had pulled them over.
The case against Nic Forler was heard in Columbia on a change of venue. The jury returned the verdict Thursday night.
Forler was a sergeant for the Lincoln County Sheriff's Department who pulled over a pickup truck in Troy. The truck stopped on an inclined subdivision driveway. As Forler approached the truck, it began to roll toward him. Forler fired twice, killing driver Tyler Teasley of Silex and a passenger, Michael Brown of Troy. Prosecutors said the truck rolled because it was in neutral. But Forler's attorney told jurors the vehicle lurched and the deputy simply reacted to it.