Updated at 3 p.m. with reaction to not guilty verdict.

Jurors on Friday acquitted a Dallas police officer accused of driving dangerously when he struck a fleeing bicyclist with his squad car in 2013.

Bryan Burgess, 31, was accused of criminally negligent homicide in the death of 51-year-old Fred Bradford Jr.

Dallas police officer Bryan Burgess insisted he was innocent "from Day 1," his attorney said after the verdict Friday. (Dallas County Jail)

Much of the two days of testimony revolved around whether Burgess was right to chase Bradford after witnessing the man reach into a parked car, and then flee when he saw police, and whether Burgess drove too closely to a man on a bike.

Defense attorney Robert L. Rogers argued that his client was simply trying to protect the neighborhood he patrolled.

Rogers said Burgess and his partner tried to stop Bradford "because they have their heads on swivels, because they care about their sector, because they care about the people on their beat."

The defense argued that Bradford could have stopped and it would have ended the chase.

"Fred Bradford escalated the situation," Rogers said.

After the verdict, Rogers said his client plans to fight to get his job back, including back pay and benefits. He said "politics" was the reason a good cop was facing jail time.

"Bryan, from Day 1, has always said, 'I'm innocent,' " Rogers said.

Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said she still believes Burgess was negligent but respects the jury's verdict. She said her office decided to prosecute the case because "we're here for everybody."

"If we see something that we think is inappropriate, and if we see something that we think is criminal, we will pursue it," she said.

Fred Bradford Jr. died three weeks after he was run over.

Prosecutors Jorge Solis and Jason Hermus argued that Burgess was dangerous in his pursuit of a man who ultimately had no drugs or money on him.

"There is no reason why you have to pursue someone so closely on a bicycle," Hermus said. "He turns a blind corner indifferent to what was on the other side."

Burgess is accused of hitting Bradford with his patrol car on April 21, 2013, in South Dallas.

After the collision, Burgess handcuffed Bradford, who suffered broken ribs, a fractured collarbone and several breaks in his back. Burgess then moved his car and Bradford's bike and waited about eight minutes before calling paramedics.

Bradford died of internal injuries May 13, 2013.

"He died a long, agonizing horrific death," Hermus said.

Much of the two days of testimony revolved around whether Burgess was right to chase Bradford after witnessing the man reach into a parked car and whether Burgess drove too closely to a man on a bike.

Burgess and his former partner, Officer Michael Puckett, said they saw the suspicious activity around 10:45 p.m. in the 1600 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard.

Both officers chased Bradford — Puckett on foot and Burgess in the squad car. Neither took down the license plate of the car Bradford allegedly reached into.

The pair followed Bradford along the Interstate 45 service road, and Burgess told investigators that Bradford turned in front of his squad car.

Puckett and Burgess were fired in August 2013 by former Police Chief David Brown. Burgess was arrested shortly afterward on the criminally negligent homicide charge.

But several former and current Dallas police officers testified that they didn't think Burgess had done anything wrong while pursuing Bradford.

Brian Smith, a retired vehicle crimes detective, said he was one of the first investigators assigned to the case. He testified that he wouldn't have filed a criminal charge against Burgess.

The case was handed off to the special investigations unit, which investigates in-custody deaths, assaults on or by police officers and shootings by officers. Retired Detective Randy Laboda filed the criminally negligent homicide charge against Burgess.

Laboda said that he believed Burgess' decision to closely follow Bradford on slick conditions between 11 mph and 15 mph was dangerous. He also said Burgess should have called dispatch for paramedics sooner and referred to it as a pedestrian struck by a motor vehicle instead of as an injured person, a call that is typically less serious than a crash involving a car.

The detective added that Burgess hindered the investigation into what happened that night by moving the car, bike and Bradford.

"You made it difficult to determine the true facts about what happened out there that night when you move everything involved in this case," Laboda said.