The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.- The FBI is investigating the death of a teenager who was shot twice in the back by a Pinellas County sheriff’s SWAT team member during a drug raid.
The agency wants to determine whether authorities violated the civil rights of Jarrell Walker, 19, who died April 12. Black community leaders questioned the shooting, and eight police cars were damaged when a protest at a city park turned violent May 8.
St. Petersburg NAACP president Darryl Rouson requested a review after prosecutors concluded the shooting was legally justified.
Deputy Chris Taylor, 33, who shot Walker, said he feared for his life and fired when he thought Walker was reaching for a gun after ignoring orders to show his hands. A search of the house found a pistol, cocaine and marijuana. Walker was black; Taylor is white.
Walker’s mother and others say Taylor was close enough to use physical restraint rather than his gun.
“We are cooperating fully with this investigation,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Jim Bordner said Tuesday.