No charges for white officer who shot, killed black man
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Nashville district attorney Glenn Funk watches the proceedings during the Vanderbilt Rape Trial in Nashville, Tenn.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. >> The Nashville district attorney general said today that a white officer won’t faces charges for shooting and killing an armed black man after a traffic stop in February.
At a news conference, District Attorney General Glenn Funk said Officer Josh Lippert’s actions met the legal definition of self-defense when he shot and killed Jocques Scott Clemmons following a traffic stop.
“Based on the facts of his incident and application of the law of self-defense in the state of Tennessee, Officer Lippert has a legally sufficient claim of self-defense, and therefore the state will not pursue criminal charges against Officer Lippert,” Funk said.
At one point, the gun was pointed in Officer Lippert’s direction, Funk said. “Jocques Clemmons never drew down on the officer and pointed it at him. He had a gun in his hand. He picked it up in the middle of an altercation. Had he kept running and this was an unarmed person that was shot in the back, it would be a completely different situation.”
Lippert shot Clemmons three times, striking him twice in the back and once in the left hip.
Authorities maintain that the incident happened within seconds. Funk said Clemmons was holding the gun when he was shot.
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A spokesperson and attorney for the family of Clemmons has previously said the officer repeatedly shot him in the back. She did not respond immediately to a call seeking comment. Lippert’s attorney also did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
The public outcry after the shooting resulted in major changes in policing in Nashville.
Funk announced that the TBI would investigate all fatal police shootings going forward, instead of the Metro Nashville Police Department investigating itself.
After the shooting, Nashville’s Metro Council called for the “immediate purchase of police body cameras. And Mayor Megan Barry has proposed spending $23 million to equip police officers with body cameras and install dash cams in their vehicles.
She spoke at the press conference of the impact of the shooting on the community.
“Two families were impacted that day. And those families and their lives will never be the same,” said Mayor Megan Barry.
