KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A Kearney police officer charged for shooting a man after a traffic stop has been acquitted by a Buffalo County jury.

Suspended Kearney Police Department Officer Derek Payton was found not guilty Thursday of second-degree assault.

Payton had pleaded not guilty in September for the June 5 shooting of Jose Klich. Payton is accused of shooting three times at Klich, striking him once in the abdomen. Prosecutors said Payton was not in the path of Klich’s car when Klich began to drive off.

Prosecutors played audio recordings of officers’ radio calls, and when Payton was asked why he was pursuing Klich’s vehicle, he could be heard saying, “He hit me with his car.”

Payton had faced up to 20 years in prison if convicted.