RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Virginia’s attorney general is considering a request from the State Conference of the NAACP to review the fatal shooting of a Black teenager by State Police troopers following a high-speed chase.
The NAACP on Tuesday asked Attorney General Mark Herring to review the evidence in the Jan. 9 shooting of Xzavier Hill, 18, and issue a report of the findings. The teenager was killed during a confrontation with two troopers following the pursuit near Goochland, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Richmond..
The organization’s request comes two weeks after a grand jury decided not to bring criminal charges against the troopers, ruling that they were justified in using deadly force because Hill did not comply with orders and he brandished a weapon, among other reasons.
NAACP president Robert Barnette Jr. wrote in a letter to Herring that his organization was concerned with the investigation and called for a probe to be handled by a special prosecutor or an independent review committee.
Charlotte Gomer, a spokeswoman for the attorney general’s office, told The Richmond Times-Dispatch that officials spoke with the NAACP on Wednesday and told the organization they would consider the request.
“We understand the Hill family, NAACP, and members of the community want more answers than they have received, and we will explore all options to help get them,” Gomer said in a statement.
State Police have said that before the shooting, troopers attempted to pull Hill over but he refused and drove off. Officials said that when two troopers later approached Hill’s car, he refused repeated orders to get out and then displayed a gun.
The troopers said they fired at Hill after they saw him reach into the vehicle’s passenger compartment then refused to stop reaching for the gun, according to the grand jurors’ report.
It was not immediately clear when the attorney general’s office would formally respond to the request.
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