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Murder trial opens for deputy charged in child's shooting

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A law enforcement officer charged with murder in a 6-year-old boy's fatal shooting is heading to trial.

 

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday for Derrick Stafford's trial in Marksville, the central Louisiana town where he and another deputy city marshal fired at a car during a November 2015 traffic stop.

 

The shooting killed first-grader Jeremy Mardis and critically wounded his father, Christopher Few. Video from a police officer's body camera showed Few had his hands raised inside his car while the deputies fired.

 

Prosecutors say Few didn't pose a threat to the officers, but defense attorneys argue that the deputies acted in self-defense.

 

Stafford is charged with second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

 

The other deputy, Norris Greenhouse Jr., awaits a separate trial later this year.