JURY CONTINUES TO DELIBERATE 3 OFFICERS' FATE

GALVESTON -- Jurors are to continue deliberations today in the trial of
three officers accused of mistreating an inmate during a videotaped 1996
shakedown in the Brazoria County Jail.

The jury of nine men and three women deliberated about seven hours Friday
before telling U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt they wanted to break for the
day.

On trial are David Cisneros, 39, a former Brazoria County Sheriff's
Department canine officer now employed as a Lake Jackson police officer;
former jailer Robert Percival, 37, who still works for the Sheriff's
Department; and Wilton David Wallace, 52, a former employee of a private
jail management firm who had been deputized to oversee Missouri inmates who
were housed at the jail under contract.

Cisneros is accused of violating inmate Toby Hawthorne's civil rights by
allowing his dog to bite Hawthorne unnecessarily during the jail search.
Percival and Wallace are accused of violating the convicted murderer's
rights by striking him although the inmate was complying with officers' orders.

The three defendants have denied acting maliciously during the shakedown and
maintained that they were acting to prevent a feared riot by Missouri prisoners.

If convicted, each defendant could face up to 10 years in prison and a
$250,000 fine. Jurors also have the option of finding them guilty of a
misdemeanor civil-rights violation that would limit potential penalties to
up to a year in prison and a $10,000 fine.