The Justice Department will not charge the two police officers involved in fatal shooting of Alton Sterling, reports the New York Times.
Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot dead last July by police in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after he was pinned to the ground by the two white officers who were arresting him.
His death sparked a wave of protests and outcry, leading the Justice Department’s civil rights division, under former President Barack Obama, to open an investigation into the high-profile shooting with the F.B.I. and the United States attorney’s office in Baton Rouge.
Sterling was shot several times in the chest and back outside of a convenience store after police responded to a 911 call about a man selling music CDs threatening the caller with a gun. The shooting was recorded by multiple bystanders.
Though the owner of the store, Abdul Muflahi, said Sterling did not have a gun in his hand, he reportedly saw police pull a handgun from Sterling’s pocket. Louisiana is an open-carry state.