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Dallas police officers John Rogers and Andrew Hutchins have been cleared of any charges in the fatal shooting of mentally disabled victim Jason Harrison in front of his home last June.

Rogers and Hutchins shot the 39-year-old last June after being called to the Harrison household by Jason’s mother Shirley. Shirley Harrison had sought authoritative assistance to help calm her son down, as he suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Reportedly that day, he was experiencing a particularly difficult episode.

The moment the cops arrived and knocked on the front door, their every move was caught by one of their body cameras. Once Jason Harrison emerged outside, he was ordered to drop the screwdriver he was carrying in his hand. But before he had a chance to acknowledge what was happening, five bullets from Rogers and Hutchins punctuated his body and Harrison was pronounced dead shortly after dropping to the ground. Shirley’s on camera was heard screaming “They killed my child.”

This past March, the surviving family members obtained a copy of the disturbing body cam footage and released it to the media. They were hoping to raise awareness against police brutality and for the lawsuit they had filed against Rogers and Hutchins back in the fall.

Sadly, once again, justice was not served.

A grand jury made the non-indictment decision just this past Thursday on April 23. As ThinkProgress.org pointed out, for a grand jury to indict a suspect they, “must believe there was probable cause to commit a crime.”

Think Progress also concluded that “police officers rarely face criminal charges in cases involving deadly force, in part because prosecutors who work with the same officers every day have reason not to prosecute their colleagues.”

Nepotism. What a shocker! (Cue the eye roll).

 

Police Who Killed Mentally Disabled Man Cleared Of Criminal Charges  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com