LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas State Police on Friday handed over to prosecutors the results of its investigation into a deputy’s fatal shooting of a white teenager that has drawn the attention of civil rights activists nationwide.
Lonoke County Prosecutor Chuck Graham said his office received the case file on the shooting of 17-year-old Hunter Brittain by Lonoke County sheriff’s deputy Sgt. Michael Davis during a June 23 traffic stop. Graham said the file has been taken to the state prosecutor coordinator since he’s requested a special prosecutor to handle the case.
Authorities have released few details about the shooting, and State Police earlier Friday referred questions about the case file to Graham’s office. Brittain’s family has said the teenager was unarmed and holding a jug of antifreeze at the time of the shooting.
Graham said he does not know what the investigation found. Prosecutor Coordinator Bob McMahan said a special prosecutor should be named early next week.
Davis, who is white, was fired by Lonoke County Sheriff John Staley last week for not turning on his body camera until after the shooting occurred. Staley said there’s no footage from the shooting, only the aftermath.
Brittain was eulogized on Tuesday by the Rev. Al Sharpton and two attorneys who represented George Floyd. They said the teen’s death highlighted the need for interracial support for efforts to reform police practices.
Floyd died in May last year when a white Minneapolis police officer used his knee to pin the handcuffed Black man’s neck to the ground. His death sparked nationwide protests over policing and racial inequality.
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