Racine officer cleared in deadly shooting during pursuit

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RACINE, Wis. (AP) — A Racine police officer has been cleared in a deadly shooting.

Racine County District Attorney Patricia Hanson announced Tuesday that she will not file charges against Officer Zachary Brenner, who fatally shot Da’Shontay King on May 20 during a police pursuit.

The state Department of Justice led the investigation into the shooting and turned its findings over to the district attorney.

Hanson released the body camera footage and her 27-page decision before family had a chance to view it Tuesday.

Brenner said he tried pulling King over for a traffic violation when King stopped the car and took off running.

Video footage shows Brenner chasing King, telling him multiple times not to reach for a weapon or he would shoot him. Still images of the video, included in Hanson’s report show what she says is a gun falling out of King’s pocket, WISN-TV reported.

Hanson said it shows him turning to pick up the gun and then holding the gun. Moments later, Brenner said he feared for his life and shot King several times.

“My review of the facts and circumstances of this case led me to the conclusion that Officer Brenner is immune from criminal liability in this case as the death of Mr. King was a direct result of Mr. King’s conduct that posed a reasonable and imminent threat to Officer Brenner, under the circumstances as they existed at the time,” Hanson wrote.

The King family attorney, William Sulton, said he’s requesting the final cause of death in the medical examiner’s report which he believes will show the officer used unreasonable force to stop King.