WEST MEMPHS, Ark. — No charges will be filed in a West Memphis officer-involved shooting that left two people dead.
In January 2019, 22-year-old Megan Rivera and 30-year-old De’Angelo Brown were killed, and an officer was injured following a shooting in West Memphis.
During a news conference on Friday a spokesperson with the West Memphis Police Department said it all started in South Carolina after the pair carjacked a 72-year-old woman. They then made their way to West Memphis where they were encountered by police.
Police said the couple refused to stop for police when officers attempted to pull over their vehicle. They then led police on a chase for miles.
In the video released by West Memphis police, officers can be heard screaming at the couple to get out of the car after they blocked them in on a residential street. The suspects then put the car in reverse and as they did officers stepped in front of the car to try to prevent them from going anywhere.
The female driver put the car in drive and started moving forward again, heading towards the officers.
That’s when officers opened fire, striking both suspects multiple times.
An officer was run over as the driver was moving forward. That officer may never serve again due to the injuries, the police spokesperson said.
Seven police vehicle were damaged in the chase.
Six officers were suspended with pay after the incident and an investigation was opened. According to a report, prosecutors presented the evidence to a grand jury on Wednesday. The jury returned a “No True Bill” decision, which means there wasn’t enough evidence to charge the defendant with violating a crime or law.
Brown’s sister, Tierra Clyburn, learned of the grand jury’s decision Thursday night. She’s less concerned with what he was doing before his death and more concerned with how officer’s reacted. “I don’t car nothing about no car. It’s just the fact that they shot them repeatedly, all those times.”
Police haven’t said how many shots they fired or how many officers did the firing.
