The Justice Department will not file civil rights charges against neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman in the fatal 2012 shooting of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin.
Officials said Tuesday they did not find sufficient evidence to meet the high standard required to file federal hate crime charges against Zimmerman, who said he killed Martin in self-defense and was acquitted in a Florida trial.
{mosads}“Though a comprehensive investigation found that the high standard for a federal hate crime prosecution cannot be met under the circumstances here, this young man’s premature death necessitates that we continue the dialogue and be unafraid of confronting the issues and tensions his passing brought to the surface,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “We, as a nation, must take concrete steps to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.”
The finding, largely expected for months, marks the close of the federal investigation into the Martin case, which became a flashpoint for concerns about racial profiling and self-defense claims.
The 17-year-old Martin was walking back to his home in a housing development, when Zimmerman confronted him. Zimmerman claimed he and Martin fought and that he shot the teenager in self-defense.
Prosecutors must clear a high bar to proceed with federal hate crime charges, including showing that Zimmerman knew he was violating laws that forbid harming someone because of their race.
Amid criticism of the local authorities’ investigation, the federal government announced it would pursue its own probe.
Its investigation was put on hold while Zimmerman stood trial for second-degree murder and was acquitted in 2013.
Since then, the federal probe continued, even as media attention faded. The Justice Department said it had interviewed 75 individuals and reviewed evidence gathered by the state.
Zimmerman was arrested earlier this year on suspicion of domestic assault. Officials say they also considered his subsequent interactions with police but did not have enough evidence to charge him.
“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 statutes; it does not reflect an assessment of any other aspect of the shooting,” the department said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Martin family thanked the government for its efforts in a statement Tuesday.
“On behalf of Sybrina Fulton, Tracy Martin, and the Trayvon Martin Foundation we would like to thank the Federal Government for an extensive and thorough investigation in the civil inquiry against George Zimmerman,” Trayvon Martin Foundation President Troy E. Wright said.
This story was last updated at 8:02 p.m.