A Miami Police sergeant who fired the fatal shot that killed a man during a confrontation following a traffic stop last year won't face charges, the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office said.
The incident happened on March 8 and left 34-year-old Antwon Cooper dead.
The officer involved, Sgt. Constant Rosewood, was legally justified in the shooting, according to last month's close-out memo from the state attorney's office.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
Cooper had been pulled over for speeding in a car with illegal tinted windows by another officer, Olivier Gonzalez, in the area of Northwest 74th Street and 10th Avenue, near Miami Northwestern Senior High School, according to the memo.
When Cooper indicated he didn't have a valid driver's license, Gonzalez told him to step out and he started to pat him down.
Cooper then tried to flee but the two got into a scuffle and fell to the ground, the memo said.
The encounter was captured by Gonzalez's body worn camera.
Rosemond arrived at the scene and found Cooper on top of Gonzalez, shouted several commands at Cooper that "went unheeded," then shot Cooper once, killing him, the memo said.
During the struggle, a firearm was "discarded or dislodged from Cooper and ended up on the roadway," the memo said. A review of police body camera footage showed the gun wasn't in the roadway before Cooper tried to flee from the pat down, the memo said.
The memo said Cooper was a convicted felon and wasn't allowed to possess a firearm.
"We find it reasonable for Rosemond to believe that deadly force was necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to Officer Gonzalez, himself and/or another," the memo said. "He arrived on scene to find Cooper on top of Officer Gonzalez, with Gonzalez doing all he could do to control Cooper's hands and keep Cooper from grabbing one of several weapons which were readily available and within reach of Cooper."
Cooper's family members were outraged after the shooting and said they were planning to sue.
"My son was killed. He was shot in the head. He didn’t deserve that," father Gerald Adams said.
