MILWAUKEE (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department plans to review the death of a 16-year-old who was restrained at a Milwaukee-area convenience store but says his family has not provided sufficient evidence so far of a civil rights violation.
U.S. Attorney James Santelle said in a statement Saturday that his office will look into Corey Stingley’s death to determine if an “investigation is warranted, without any present commitment to or plan for prosecution,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sunday (https://bit.ly/1icOgoS ).
Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm has already decided not to charge three white men in the black teenager’s death. He said earlier this month that there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove they intended to kill Stingley or knew their actions could lead to death.
Stingley died Dec. 29, 2012, two weeks after the three customers tackled him and held him down at a West Allis convenience store where he had been suspected of shoplifting alcoholic beverages. The youth was unconscious when police arrived. Chisholm’s decision not to prosecute the three sparked a rally outside his office Friday by about 150 people, some carrying signs reading “Justice for Corey Stingley” and “Bring his racist killers to trial.”
Santelle’s statement said Craig Stingley, the youth’s father, initially requested federal involvement in September. The department wrote back in December that the information Stingley had provided was “insufficient for us to determine the existence of possible federal criminal civil rights violations” and requested additional information from the father.
Stingley said Saturday he has been working to gather materials, such as video from the West Allis Police Department and transcripts from a hearing.
“I’m in the process of doing my part, which is to get them the information they requested,” he said.
The Milwaukee County medical examiner ruled Corey Stingley’s death a homicide, which, by that office’s definition, means death at the hands of another. The criminal charge of homicide carries a different standard that takes into account intent and risk of harm. The medical examiner’s report said the youth died of brain damage caused by lack of oxygen, which it said had been preceded by asphyxia, physical restraint and a violent struggle with individuals.
___
Information from: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, https://www.jsonline.com
Please read our comment policy before commenting.