The killing was captured on cellphone video and circulated widely online, sparking demonstrations across the city. Sterling, 37, was shot to death on July 5, 2016, as the officers pinned him to the pavement outside a convenience store where he had been selling CDs. Prosecutors told jurors that Shelby over-reacted, noting that videos from a patrol car dashboard and a police helicopter showed Crutcher had his hands in the air and did not have a weapon.įederal prosecutors announced in May they would not seek charges against two white police officers who were involved in a deadly encounter with Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Lo., last summer. Shelby testified that she was afraid because Crutcher didn't obey her commands and appeared to reach inside his vehicle.
The university fired Tensing, restructured its public safety department and reached a $5.3 million settlement that includes free undergraduate tuition for DuBose's 13 children. Tensing has said he feared he could be dragged or run over as DuBose tried to drive away.
The judge's decision came after a prosecutor declined to pursue a third murder trial the first two ended in hung juries. Gray's family agreed to a $6.4 million settlement with the city in September 2015.Ī judge in July dismissed charges against Ray Tensing, a white former University of Cincinnati officer who fatally shot Sam DuBose, an unarmed black motorist, during a 2015 traffic stop. Department of Justice then decided not to bring federal civil rights charges. Prosecutors in July 2016 dropped all remaining charges after acquittals and a hung jury. Six Baltimore officers were involved in the arrest and in-custody death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who died after being injured in a Baltimore police van, touching off weeks of protest. Here are some recent high-profile deaths of blacks in the U.S. Some civil rights leaders say without the video, it might have been impossible to even charge Slager.
Stunning cellphone video of the shooting helped jump start the Black Lives Matter movement.