The white police officer who shot an unarmed black teenager last summer had faced civil rights charges. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. and his civil rights chief, though, will have the final say.
Michael Brown and Darren Wilson
Handout / St. Louis County Prosecutor's Office
The New York Times first reported that the Justice Department is preparing a memo recommended that no civil rights charges be filed against Wilson, who is white, in the shooting death of 18-year-old Brown on Aug. 9.
The decision comes after a St. Louis County grand jury decided in November not to indict Wilson and would bring to an end the investigation into whether the officer violated Brown's civil rights. The decision set off months of protests in Missouri and across the nation.
Wilson resigned from the police force shortly after the decision not to indict him was announced.
An investigation by the FBI found no evidence to support civil rights charges against the officer, officials told the New York Times.
For many months, federal investigators have hinted that charges would be unlikely.
Holder said that although his office shared some interviews and evidence with local authorities, the analysis of the case was separate.
Federal investigators interviewed at least 200 people, looked at audio and video filmed on cellphones, examined the gun used by Wilson and other evidence, the law enforcement officials told the New York Times. Although local authorities and Brown's family had conducted autopsies, Holder ordered a new one.
Officials said they found no details that differed significantly from evidence already made public last year by Missouri authorities.
Demonstrators protest against the shooting of Michael Brown, during a rally at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., Dec. 1, 2014.
AP Photo / Jose Luis Magana
from BuzzFeed - USNews http://ift.tt/1ytXMuT
No comments:
Post a Comment