WASHINGTON
The Justice Department said Tuesday it would not pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against George Zimmerman who fatally shot black teen Trayvon Martin in 2012.
Prosecutors from the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, officials from the FBI, and the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service met with Martin’s family and their representatives to inform them of the findings of the investigation and the decision.
“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.
Terming it as "a devastating tragedy," Holder said as a nation, concrete steps must be taken to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
The federal investigation was conducted by civil rights prosecutors and FBI agents shortly after Zimmerman was acquitted by a Florida jury in July 2013. The federal probe was separate from the state’s investigation into the shooting.
"Federal investigators reviewed all of the material and evidence generated by the state of Florida in connection with its investigation and prosecution of Zimmerman, including witness statements, crime scene evidence, cell phone data, ballistics reports, reconstruction analysis, medical and autopsy reports, depositions, and the trial record," read a Justice Department statement.
Federal investigators also conducted 75 witness interviews and obtained and reviewed the contents of relevant electronic devices, according to the statement.
The investigation examined whether Zimmerman violated Martin’s civil rights and committed a hate crime based on the teen’s race at any point during their interaction.
“Our decision not to pursue federal charges does not condone the shooting that resulted in the death of Trayvon Martin and is based solely on the high legal standard applicable to these cases,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division.
Martin’s death and the jury’s decision to acquit Zimmerman resulted in weeks of protests across the country.
Activists and protesters once again highlighted the case during nationwide protests following the deaths of black teen Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and Eric Gardner in New York by white police officers.
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