The NYPD officers who shot and killed 16-year-old Kimani Gray will not face criminal charges, reports the Daily News.
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According to court documents, “[prosecutors] are not pursuing criminal charges against the (officers) and will not be presenting case to the grand jury.”
The decision came after a recently-completed investigation ordered by Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, sources said.
A DA spokeswoman confirmed the office will not present the case to a grand jury.
Police have said Gray pointed a loaded .38-caliber handgun at the officers and claimed he was ordered to drop it.
But his family and lawyers noted that out of seven bullets that struck the teen, three entered from his back, suggesting he was running away.
Dozens were arrested in subsequent protests, including Kimani’s sister, and at least two officers were lightly injured in the fracas.
As previously reported by NewsOne, in a moving letter sent home with students, Matt Willoughby, principal of the Urban School of Design and Construction, painted a clear picture of Gray, remembering his determination, academic achievement and positive energy. He wrote about Gray traveling an hour to get to school each day and how focused he was on succeeding.
In a heart-wrenching passage, Willoughby shared with everyone what Gray was involved in before two officers, Sgt. Mourad Mourad and Officer Jovaniel Cordova, pumped 7 bullets into his slight frame: dramatic dialogue in English, construction of a school in Design — a project that his group will have to complete without him.
The grieving principal remembers Gray as a good person, striving everyday to grow and be his best self.
Officers Mourad and Cordova are no strangers to excessive force. As previously reported by NewsOne, the city has paid $215,000 to settle three lawsuits brought against them — all by people who said they were illegal stopped and “roughed up.”
NYPD Officers Who Shot And Killed Kimani Gray Will Not Face Criminal Charges was originally published on newsone.com
