NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – A white Nashville police officer won’t face charges for shooting and killing an armed black man after a traffic stop in February.
At a news conference Thursday, District Attorney General Glenn Funk said Officer Josh Lippert’s actions met the legal definition of self-defense when he shot and killed Jocques Scott Clemmons following a traffic stop.
The decision drew swift outcry from the NAACP, some clergy, Clemmons’ family and other community members.
Funk says that at one point during the confrontation, the gun Clemmons was holding was pointed in Officer Lippert’s direction.
Lippert shot Clemmons three times, striking him twice in the back and once in the left hip.