ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – There’s not enough evidence to pursue criminal civil rights charges against the Albuquerque police officers who were involved in the 2014 fatal shooting of a homeless man that spurred public protest, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.
Officials with the agency’s civil rights division, federal prosecutors and the FBI met with Boyd’s family and their representative to inform them of the decision to close the investigation following what was described as an independent thorough and careful review.
“This decision is limited strictly to the department’s inability to meet the high legal standard required to prosecute the case under the federal civil rights statute; it does not reflect an assessment of any other aspect of the shooting,” the agency said in a statement.
Boyd, who had a history of mental illness, was shot and killed following an hours-long standoff with authorities after he was discovered camping illegally in the foothills bordering Albuquerque.
Two former Albuquerque officers were tried on second-degree murder charges in the case that ended in a mistrial last year. State prosecutors later cleared them both.