ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There was a somewhat unexpected ending in court Monday in the trial of a former APD officer who was fired and criminally charged for his arrest of a man trying to buy a bike at a local Target.

After the jury spent a week hearing testimony and most of the morning deliberating, they couldn’t agree.

Kenneth Skeens was fired by APD last year after he was accused of using excessive force on a disabled man at the Target near Paseo and Coors.

The body camera video from the incident shows Skeens and two other officers interacting with Matthew McManus in the self-checkout line. Video shows a pile of money on the register in front of McManus.

McManus testified that he was trying to buy a bike that day, but Skeens says he believed McManus was shoplifting. That’s what led to Skeens and the other officers taking McManus outside of Target.

Closing arguments in the trial wrapped up Friday. On Monday, Judge Britt Baca-Miller declared a mistrial due to the hung jury.

While jurors saw the video and both McManus and Skeens testified, Skeens’ attorney implied Monday that it might have been the jury instructions that were the issue.

“I think I’ll defer to the government, but I think jury instructions – they struggled with one or two or three jury instructions. So both sides are going to go back, clean up their act, and we’ll do it again,” said John D’Amato Jr., Skeens’ defense attorney.

A status hearing has been set for May 17.

Lauren Rodriguez, director of communications for the New Mexico Department of Justice, shared the following statement:

“We are disappointed with today’s decision. We intend to evaluate today’s outcome, but we remain committed to holding law enforcement officers accountable for instances of excessive use of force.”