Trial opens in State Police trooper’s fatal use of Taser
DETROIT (AP) — A prosecutor has told jurors that a Michigan state trooper used unreasonable force when he fired a Taser at a Detroit teenager who then crashed an all-terrain vehicle and died.
Trial opened Tuesday for Mark Bessner, who is charged with second-degree murder in the death of 15-year-old Damon Grimes. Bessner fired his Taser from a moving patrol car, striking the teen twice before the crash in August 2017.
Assistant prosecutor Matthew Penney said Grimes was breaking the law by driving the ATV on a city street. But he said Grimes was a risk to himself, not others.
Defense attorney Richard Convertino told jurors that Bessner believed the teen had a weapon. He wasn’t armed. Convertino says the scene was tense.
Bessner quit the state police after the incident.
Ebay sues Amazon, saying it tried to poach its sellers
NEW YORK (AP) — Ebay is suing Amazon, saying the online retail giant used eBay’s messaging system to steal its sellers.
In the lawsuit, eBay said Amazon representatives signed up for eBay accounts and messaged sellers to get them to sell their goods on Amazon.com, which eBay said violated its user agreement.
According to the complaint, Amazon representatives spelled out their email addresses and asked eBay sellers to talk on the phone in order to evade detection.
Ebay called it an “orchestrated, coordinated, worldwide campaign” to “illegally lure eBay sellers to sell on Amazon.”
Seattle-based Amazon declined to comment on the lawsuit.
Both eBay and Amazon rely on independent sellers to boost their revenue, but it’s become a big part of Amazon’s growth: Last year, for the first time, more than half the items sold on Amazon were from third-party sellers.
State awards $80M for improving water, sewer systems
LANSING (AP) — The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has awarded $80 million in loans for water and sewer projects intended to boost drinking water quality and protect public health in a number of cities.
The funding comes from federal-state programs that provide loans for water-related infrastructure upgrades. They offer loans with lower interest rates than those on the open market, as well as loan forgiveness opportunities.
Among recipients were the Great Lakes Water Authority in southeastern Michigan; Monroe County; and the cities of St. Joseph, Highland Park and Saline.
Also, the Huron River Green Infrastructure Drainage District got funding for street tree planting to reduce phosphorus runoff and bacterial contamination.
A hot dog? Firefighters rescue pet stuck in heating duct
WEST SPRINGFIELD, Va. (AP) — It wasn’t a cat in a tree, but a dog in a heating duct that took firefighters to a home in Virginia.
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department arrived Friday night to find the small dog trapped in the HVAC system.
Video shows firefighter Mark Williams cutting a hole in the basement ceiling to retrieve the dog.
The department says it was a “happy and pawsitive outcome fur all!”
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