Prosecutors faced a difficult task the first time they tried to convict Cincinnati Police Officer Robert “Blaine” Jorg of causing the death of Roger Owensby Jr. If they try a second time, their job will be harder.

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        The case against Officer Jorg got considerably more complicated for prosecutors when the first trial ended Tuesday with a split jury verdict.

        The jurors found the officer not guilty of assaulting Mr. Owensby during an arrest on Nov. 7. But they were unable to agree on a verdict for the most serious charge, involuntary manslaughter, stemming from a alleged fatal choke hold or piling on top of Mr. Owensby until he asphyxiated.

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        Hamilton County prosecutors can try Officer Jorg again for manslaughter but not for assault.

        That could be a problem because their case was based on the theory that an assault led to Mr. Owensby's death.

        “Since they didn't do well the first time, I'd say it becomes much more tenuous the second time,” said Joshua Dressler, a criminal law professor at Ohio State University. “They can try again, but it won't be easy.”

        Prosecutor Mike Allen will decide within the next week whether he will try to persuade another jury to convict Officer Jorg. The first jury was deadlocked in a 10-2 vote, with the majority favoring acquittal.

        Mr. Allen declined to comment on prosecutors' chances at a second trial. But legal experts — and legal history — suggest another trial would be more difficult than the first.

        Mr. Jorg's attorney, Scott Croswell, said the acquittal on the assault charge and the 10-2 vote on the manslaughter charge show that the evidence against his client is not convincing.

        “It's clear no crime was committed,” Mr. Croswell said.

        If Mr. Allen decides to seek another trial, Mr. Croswell said he would ask Judge Thomas Nurre to dismiss the case for lack of evidence. Without the assault charge, he said, prosecutors would have great difficulty proving the involuntary manslaughter charge.

        “As a legal matter, (Mr. Allen) has a right to proceed,” Mr. Croswell said. “As a practical matter, it would be a fatal flaw in his case.”

        The problem is that even though the assault charge is separate from the manslaughter charge, it is related.

        To prove involuntary manslaughter, prosecutors must convince a jury that Officer Jorg first assaulted or attempted to assault Mr. Owensby.

        At the first trial, prosecutors told jurors the officer committed an assault by choking Mr. Owensby during an arrest.

        But without the assault charge, prosecutors would have to reconsider that argument.

        “I'd think they'd have to come up with a different basis for the case,” Mr. Dressler said.

        The loss of the assault charge also means jurors would have fewer options at a second trial. The next case would be an all-or-nothing proposition: convict on manslaughter or set him free.

        Given the way the first trial went, that may not bode well for prosecutors.

        “I think it makes it a lot harder for them,” said Thomas R. Smith, a veteran Cincinnati lawyer and former assistant U.S. Attorney.

        “It deprives the jury of one of the options they had,” he said, “and it really takes something away from prosecutors in terms of possibilities.”

        Mr. Owensby, 29, died during an arrest at a Roselawn gas station.

        Several officers tackled him in the parking lot. But Officer Jorg and another officer, Patrick Caton, were the only two charged with criminal wrongdoing.

        Officer Caton, accused of misdemeanor assault, is still on trial in municipal court. He faces up to six months in jail if he is convicted.

        The allegations in both cases are similar, except that Officer Jorg was accused of committing the assault that led to Mr. Owensby's death. Therefore, he is charged with involuntary manslaughter and faces up to five years in prison if he is convicted.

        After the jury's decision Tuesday, Mr. Allen acknowledged it's difficult for prosecutors to win convictions against police officers in the best of circumstances.

        “It's an uphill battle,” he said.

        At a second trial, the circumstances would likely be even less favorable to prosecutors. Mr. Dressler said the 10-2 vote suggests a conviction is a long shot.

        “It's a strong sign they don't have the kind of case that's going to persuade a jury,” he said.

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