A friend of Jordan Miles was called to the witness stand today in U.S. District Court as the third week of testimony began in Miles' civil suit against three Pittsburgh Police officers.
Ryan Allen testified today that he does not remember Miles telling him he had a bottle of Mountain Dew in his coat pocket the night Miles was stopped and beaten by the three plain clothes officers.
Allen was one of Miles' closest friends in high school, but following the January 2010 incident with police, Allen said their friendship faded. Allen said the two are now on "speaking terms," but no longer close.
According to FBI records, right after the incident Allen told investigators that Miles had told him that he had a bottle of Mountain Dew in his pocket and that the police mistook it for a gun. Miles has denied ever saying that to Allen and testified that he did not have a soda bottle on his person that night in Homewood.
In his testimony today, Allen said he can't remember what Miles told him two years ago. When asked repeatedly about being told about the bottle, Allen replied he did not remember. Attorneys for the officers asked Allen if he were lying to protect Miles. Allen said he was not lying, and that he didn't remember what Miles told him.
Allen also told the court today that he does not remember giving those details about the bottle to the FBI, although he had the Bureau's report in front of him. Attorneys for Miles pointed out that the accuracy of the FBI report was never confirmed by Allen at the time it was conducted, and it was never signed by Allen.
