NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Officer on Trial Cited Self-Defense

A Latino police officer on trial in the killing of a black motorcyclist that sparked three days of race riots in Miami last January said at the time that he shot the man because he believed the motorcyclist was going to hit him, a fellow officer testified. Officer Antonio Mir said he took Officer William Lozano’s statement after the shooting, in which a passenger on the motorcycle was also killed. Lozano is charged with two counts of manslaughter. If convicted, he could receive up to 60 years in prison. The defense maintains the cyclist was traveling at a high speed toward Lozano and that the officer fired in self-defense.