WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Justice Department probe was limited to whether the two officers in violated federal civil rights laws in the 2014 shooting of James Boyd. The Justice Department said such violations require a "high legal standard" to prosecute.
"After a careful and thorough review into the facts surrounding the shooting, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt a violation of the federal statute," the release stated. "Accordingly, the investigation into this incident has been closed."
Other media reports noted Black Lives Matter activists staged protests over Boyd's shooting, despite the incident lacking the racial overtones of other high-profile police killings of African-Americans. Unlike the victims in those cases, Boyd was white.
The Justice Department release explained that the decision to close its investigation was not related to other aspects of the shooting, leaving it unclear whether state authorities would retry the officers.
