Michigan police officers won’t face federal charges in the fatal shooting of a homeless man during a confrontation over stolen coffee.
Federal authorities, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI, announced Tuesday that there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the six Saginaw police officers.
“After a thorough investigation, federal authorities have determined that this tragic event does not present sufficient evidence of willful misconduct to lead to a federal criminal prosecution of the police officers involved,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
Police were called on the afternoon of July 1, 2012, to investigate a report that a man had stolen a cup of coffee from a convenience store.
Officers found 49-year-old Milton Hall, a homeless Saginaw man who was armed with a pocket knife and a known history of mental illness.
During the confrontation in a parking lot, police fired their weapons 47 times at Hall, striking him 11 times and killing him.
Prosecutors also declined to charge the officers in the state’s investigation, saying Hall acted aggressively as he wielded the knife.
