NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Police Officer’s Trial Draws to a Close

Both sides rested their cases and closing arguments were scheduled to begin today in the trial of a Miami policeman charged with manslaughter in the deaths of two black men that sparked three days of race riots in January. The defense rested its case after rolling a motorcycle into the courtroom to show jurors how the vehicle looked the day the defendant, William Lozano, 31, shot and killed its driver, Clement Lloyd, 23. Lloyd’s passenger, Allan Blanchard, 24, died later. The prosecution claims Lozano killed Lloyd unnecessarily as the Kawasaki Ninja motorcycle, fleeing from a pursuing police car, sped past the officer in the opposite lane. The defense says the motorcycle was bearing down on Lozano, who shot in self-defense.