Two federal agents who shot at suspects in separate incidents last year in Washington, D.C., will not be charged.
The Office of the U.S. Attorney for D.C. told News4 the federal officers in both cases wouldn’t be charged because neither suspect was injured by the gunfire.
“There could be no prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 242 because no one was struck,” a spokesperson for the attorney’s office said.
The first incident happened in October when police tried to pull over Phillip Brown on Benning Road because his vehicle did not have a front license plate.
Police said Brown tried to drive off.
That’s when police say a federal officer fired shots into Brown’s car, hitting the passenger seat. Brown was not hit.
Brown was arrested and charged with fleeing from police. But the charges against Brown were dismissed after the attorney’s office told the court that the police report did not include the fact that an agent fired his weapon during the chase.
About a month after Brown’s arrest, police tried to stop Justin Nelson while he was driving. They chased Nelson when he took off.
Police said Nelson was fleeing police on Benning Road NE when he intentionally hit a police cruiser. A federal agent then fired her weapon because she feared for her life, federal officials said afterward.
The attorney’s office declined charges against Nelson.
