MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A prosecutor says a white Memphis police officer won’t face federal civil rights criminal charges in the shooting death of a 19-year-old black man.
U.S. Attorney Edward Stanton told reporters Tuesday that a federal review found insufficient evidence in the July 2015 shooting of Darrius Stewart by Officer Connor Schilling. Stanton added that Schilling did not willfully deprive Stewart of his civil rights.
The Justice Department said in December that it was reviewing the shooting, which sparked peaceful protests in Memphis. Stewart’s shooting occurred in the months after the deaths of black men at the hands of police in Missouri, New York and elsewhere heightened racial tensions.
Police say Schilling shot Stewart as they struggled as the officer was trying to arrest the teen on active warrants follwoing a traffic stop.
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