SEATTLE -- The assault trial of a former King County sheriff's deputy has been put on hold over concerns that the man suspected of killing a Seattle police officer on Halloween night may have been motivated by the deputy's actions.
Deputy Paul Schene, 32, was fired after being caught on video repeatedly punching a 15-year-old girl in a SeaTac City Hall holding cell. The girl had kicked her shoe at him.
The video was released to the media, and investigators believe that anger about it might have motivated Christopher Monfort to shoot and kill Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton. Monfort was shot by police Friday and remains at Harborview Medical Center.
Schene's lawyers requested the delay over concerns that news of the Brenton killing could affect how jurors see Schene's case. Schene's fourth-degree assault trial is set to resume Jan. 11.
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